Idea or model
Allele
One of two or more versions of a DNA sequence at the same place in the genome. You inherit one from each parent.
Mendelian inheritance
Mendel's pea crosses showed that traits are inherited as separate units, giving predictable ratios such as 3 to 1.Source: Abbott & Fairbanks, 2016
Step 3 of 7ReadingIdea or model
How Mendelian inheritance connects
Mendelian inheritance describes
Mendelian inheritance involves
Idea or model
Dominant and recessive
A dominant allele shows its effect with one copy; a recessive allele shows its effect only with two copies.
Mendelian inheritance is described by
Idea or model
Punnett square
A grid that predicts the possible offspring genotypes from a cross between two parents.
Mendelian inheritance is related to
Process
Pollination
Moving pollen between flowers, often by animals, so plants can make seeds.
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Sources & further reading
The explanations on this page are our own summaries of these sources. Follow a link to read the original; if anything here disagrees with it, the original wins. How we choose and check sources.
Experiments on Plant Hybrids by Gregor Mendel (opens the original in a new tab)
Abbott S, Fairbanks DJ (2016). Genetics 204:407-422.
A modern English translation of Mendel's 1866 paper.
Peer-reviewedTranslation