Mendel's law

American  

noun

Genetics.

1. law of segregation.

2. law of independent assortment.

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Mendel's law Scientific  

/ mĕn′dlz /

1. Any of the principles first proposed by Gregor Mendel to describe the inheritance of traits passed from one generation to the next.

2. ◆ Mendel's first law (also called the law of segregation) states that during the formation of reproductive cells (gametes), pairs of hereditary factors (genes) for a specific trait separate so that offspring receive one factor from each parent.

3. ◆ Mendel's second law (also called the law of independent assortment) states that chance determines which factor for a particular trait is inherited.

4. ◆ Mendel's third law (also called the law of dominance) states that one of the factors for a pair of inherited traits will be dominant and the other recessive, unless both factors are recessive.

5. See more at inheritance

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Etymology

Origin of Mendel's law

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Which cellular process underlies Mendel’s law of independent assortment?

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

This results in offspring ratios that violate Mendel’s law of independent assortment.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Although chromosomes sort independently into gametes during meiosis, Mendel’s law of independent assortment refers to genes, not chromosomes.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

This results in offspring ratios that violate Mendel's law of independent assortment.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

We have spoken above of ecphorias produced according to Mendel's law and reproducing characters which have been latent during one or two generations.

From The Sexual Question A Scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological study by Forel, Auguste