What principle states that two copies of a gene segregate from each other during gamete formation?

• A. Law of Independent Assortment
• B. Law of Dominance
• C. Law of Segregation
• D. Law of Genetic Variability

Answer: (C)

The principle stating that two copies of a gene segregate from each other during gamete formation is known as the Law of Segregation. This foundational concept in genetics was first described by Gregor Mendel through his experiments with pea plants. During the formation of gametes (sperm and egg cells), the allele pairs separate so that each gamete carries only one allele for each gene.

This means that if an organism has two different alleles for a trait, each gamete produced will receive only one of those alleles randomly, resulting in genetic variation among offspring. This law is critical for understanding how traits are inherited from one generation to the next, as it sets the groundwork for the predictable ratios of traits seen in genetic crosses.

Other principles, like the Law of Independent Assortment, apply to different aspects of inheritance by describing how different genes independently separate during gamete formation, while the Law of Dominance addresses how certain alleles can mask the expression of others. The concept of Genetic Variability encompasses a broader range of genetic diversity mechanisms but does not specifically refer to gene segregation during gamete formation.