Term | Definition |
genetics | the science of heredity and of the mechanisms by which traits are passed from parent to offspring |
heredity | the passing of genetic traits from parent to offspring |
trait | a genetically determined characteristic |
pollination | the transfer of pollen from the male reproductive structures (the anthers) to the tip of a female reproductive structure (the pistil) of a flower in angiosperms of to the ovule in gymosperms |
self-pollination | the transfer of pollen grains from an anther to the stigma of the same flower or to the stigma of another flower on the same plant |
cross-pollination | a reproductive process in which pollen from one plant is transferred to a stigma of another plant |
true-breeding | describes organisms or genotypes that are homozygous for a specific trait and thus always produce offspring that have the same phenotype for that trait |
P generation | the true-breeding parents |
F1 generation | the first generation of offspring obtained from an experimental cross of two organisms |
F2 generation | the second generation of offspring, obtained from an experimental cross of two organisms: the offspring of the F1 generation |
recessive | describes a trait or an allele that is expressed only when two recessive alleles for the same characteristics are inherited |
dominant | describes the allele that is fully expressed when carried by only one pair of homologous chromosomes |
law of segregation | Mendel's law that states that the pairs of homologous chromosomes separate in meiosis so that only one chromosome from each pair is present in each gamete |
law of independent assortment | the law that states that genes separate independently of one another in meiosis |
molecular genetics | the study of the structure of nucleic acids and the function and the regulation of genes |
allele | one of the alternative forms of a gene that governs a characteristic, such as hair color |