Which statement best describes Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment?

Which statement best describes Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment?

• A. Traits are inherited as a unit from a single parent
• B. Alleles do not segregate independently of each other
• C. Traits are passed randomly and are not influenced by other traits
• D. Genes are located on the plasmids

Answer: (C)

Independent assortment means that the allele you pass for one gene into a gamete does not depend on which allele you pass for another gene. Because different genes are located on different chromosomes (or far apart on the same chromosome), the way chromosome pairs line up and separate during meiosis is random, producing many possible combinations of alleles in offspring. Saying that traits are passed randomly and aren’t influenced by other traits expresses this idea of independence and randomness in inheritance. It's worth noting that sometimes genes that are close together on the same chromosome are inherited together more often (linkage), which is an exception to the simplest form of the law. Also, Mendelian genetics focuses on chromosomal inheritance in organisms; plasmids are not the basis for this principle.

Independent assortment means that the allele you pass for one gene into a gamete does not depend on which allele you pass for another gene. Because different genes are located on different chromosomes (or far apart on the same chromosome), the way chromosome pairs line up and separate during meiosis is random, producing many possible combinations of alleles in offspring. Saying that traits are passed randomly and aren’t influenced by other traits expresses this idea of independence and randomness in inheritance. It's worth noting that sometimes genes that are close together on the same chromosome are inherited together more often (linkage), which is an exception to the simplest form of the law. Also, Mendelian genetics focuses on chromosomal inheritance in organisms; plasmids are not the basis for this principle.