The statement "Mendel's law of Independent assortment states that the alleles of two different genes get sorted into gametes independently of one another" can be rephrased as "According to Mendel's law of Independent assortment, the inheritance of one gene does not influence the inheritance of another gene."
However, the statement goes on to say that Morgan's experiment showed that genes on the same chromosome can be tightly or loosely linked, and due to the process of crossover, two genes on the same chromosome can behave either independently or as if they are linked. This linkage can affect the isolation of alleles into gametes, and genes located closely together on the same chromosome tend to be inherited together, which is why the law of Independent assortment does not hold true for these genes.
The revised statement that accurately reflects the information is "Although Mendel's law of Independent assortment asserts that genes are inherited independently, Morgan's experiment revealed that genes located on the same chromosome can be tightly or loosely linked, and their inheritance can be influenced by the process of crossover. Due to linkage, genes located closely together on the same chromosome tend to be inherited together, violating the law of Independent assortment."
List I | List II | ||
---|---|---|---|
A | Mesozoic Era | I | Lower invertebrates |
B | Proterozoic Era | II | Fish & Amphibia |
C | Cenozoic Era | III | Birds & Reptiles |
D | Paleozoic Era | IV | Mammals |
If two genes were present on the same chromosome, the chances of getting a parental combination were much higher in the next generation in comparison to the non-parental combination. This physical association of genes was termed ‘linkage’. The description of the non-parental gene combinations in a dihybrid cross is termed ‘genetic recombination'. After the discovery of linked genes, the frequency of linked genes also influenced the appearance of traits in the next generation.
Read More: Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance