What is the physical basis for the independent assortment of alleles into offspring?
a. There are chromosome divisions during gamete production.
b. Homologous chromosome pairs are separated during gamete production.
c. Sperm and eggs are produced by different sexes.
d. Each gene codes for more than one protein.
e. The instruction manual for producing a human is incomplete.

Question

What is the physical basis for the independent assortment of alleles into offspring?

a. There are chromosome divisions during gamete production.

b. Homologous chromosome pairs are separated during gamete production.

c. Sperm and eggs are produced by different sexes.

d. Each gene codes for more than one protein.

e. The instruction manual for producing a human is incomplete.

Accepted Answer

Hello. Here's our next question. How do genes that are far apart on the same chromosome a sort independently. Let's recall from our content video what it means to assort independently that recalls to when you have two different genes for two different traits. So we'll think of the p experiments where you have genes for color. Api could be green or yellow and you had a gene for shape. API could be smooth or wrinkled. But these two genes assorted independently. The p could be green and smooth or green and wrinkled. It could be yellow and smooth or yellow and wrinkled. You didn't always have green, smooth peas and yellow wrinkled piece. So we'd say that those genes are sorted independently of each other. However, if two genes are close together on the same chromosome. So let's imagine our gene for color. We're here and our gene for shape. We're here. These genes will not assort independently. They will be inherited together because this chromosome will be inherited by the offspring and they will be there together on the same chromosome. Now, if the genes are far apart on the same chromosome, how might they assort independently despite being on the same chromosome? Well let's imagine. Here we go. We're gonna have our our chromosome here from one parent. And let's imagine instead we have the gene for color up here and the gene for shape is way down here. They're far apart on the same chromosome. So we'll just draw a little gene in black here right there, color and shape and on the sister committed in the same spot. Now let's imagine we have the chromosome from the other parent and we have a crossover event happening. And let's go back to again remembering our genes are up here are gene for color. Up here and our genes for shape down here. Well now due to this crossing over these genes will have swapped, they will have assorted independently of each other despite being on the same chromosome. So a crossing over event like that we would say is part of recombination because our genes have become recombined in a different way. So let's look at our answer choices. We would say that these genes can assort independently due to recombination and we look at our answer choices. We see that choice C. Does say through genetic recombination. So that is our correct answer. We'll just look through it are other choices. Choice A says through linkage equilibrium and choice B says through linkage disequilibrium. Well this does talk about those two um concepts are talking about um random assortment of jeans but they're talking about it on the population level. So if I'm looking at the distribution of an alley will like for color across an entire population language equilibrium, would say that looking at the prevalence of that allele in the population, it's or two different genes in the population that they're a sorting independently of each other. Language disequilibrium means when I look at how those genes are distributed through a population, they are not a sorting independently. So it has to do with this independent assortment. But it's looking at how the genes are distributed across an entire population. So that's not our correct answer. Because it's not explaining how specifically it happens at the chromosome level and choice D. Says through DNA replication, that's just how the genes copy themselves doesn't have to do with the assortment independently or otherwise, So, Choice D. Is also not correct. Our correct answer is C through genetic recombination. Thanks for watching See you in the next video.

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

Key Concepts

Independent Assortment

Meiosis

Homologous Chromosomes