Question

(a) A pea plant bearing axial flowers is crossed with a pea plant bearing terminal flowers. The cross is carried out to find the genotype of the pea plant bearing axial flowers. Work out the cross to show the conclusions you arrive at.

(b) State the Mendel's law of inheritance that is universally acceptable. [5]

Answer 1

(a) There are two possibilities:

(i) If the pea plant is homozygous for the dominant trait: [1]



(ii) If the pea plant is heterozygous for the dominant trait: [1]


Conclusion: If all the progeny shows axial flowers (dominant), then the plant is homozygous (AA). If 50% of the progeny shows axial flowers (dominant) and 50% shows terminal flowers (recessive), then the plant is heterozygous. [1]

(b) Mendel's law of segregation is universally acceptable [1] which states that the factors or alleles of a pair segregate or separate during gamete formation such that a gamete receives only one of the two factors. [1]