Sex Determination

Introduction: Sexual reproduction is the formation of offspring that are genetically distinct from their parents; most often, two parents contribute genes to their offspring. Among most eukaryotes, sexual reproduction …

Testcross

A useful tool for analyzing genetic crosses is the testcross, in which one individual of unknown genotype is crossed with another individual with a homozygous recessive genotype for the …

Monohybrid Crosses

Mendel started with 34 varieties of peas and spent 2 years selecting those varieties that he would use in his experiments. He verified that each variety was genetically pure …

Mendel: The Father of Genetics

In 1902, the basic principles of genetics, which Archibald Garrod successfully applied to the inheritance of alkaptonuria, had just become widely known among biologists. Surprisingly, these principles had been …

The Importance of Genetics

Although the science of genetics is relatively new, people have understood the hereditary nature of traits and have “practiced” genetics for thousands of years. The rise of agriculture began …