The separation of a pair of alleles of one gene at meiosis independently of the separation of alleles of other genes. Thus, in a heterozygote AaBb, independent assortment would produce four kinds of gametes equally frequently: AB, Ab, aB, and ab. The Law of Independent Assortment was formulated by Mendel (Mendel's Second Law). However, it only holds true provided that genes are on separate chromosomes. If genes are on the same chromosome, then they tend to segregate together ( linkage). The term independent assortment can be applied to chromosomes as well as genes. |
