Mendelià

Mendelià is a term used to describe phenomena or concepts related to the principles of inheritance discovered by Gregor Mendel. These principles, often referred to as Mendelian inheritance, form the foundation of modern genetics. They explain how traits are passed from parents to offspring through discrete units of heredity, now known as genes.

The core tenets of Mendelian inheritance include the law of segregation, which states that each individual possesses two alleles for each gene, and these alleles separate during gamete formation, so that each gamete receives only one allele. The law of independent assortment posits that alleles for different genes assort independently of one another during gamete formation, provided the genes are not linked on the same chromosome. Finally, the law of dominance suggests that in a heterozygote, one allele, the dominant allele, will mask the expression of the other allele, the recessive allele.

Understanding Mendelian inheritance allows for the prediction of offspring genotypes and phenotypes in crosses. This has been crucial in fields ranging from agriculture, for developing improved crop varieties, to medicine, for understanding genetic disorders and counseling individuals at risk. While many inheritance patterns are more complex than simple Mendelian ratios, these fundamental principles remain a cornerstone of genetic study.