Monohybrid Cross and Mendel's Law of Dominance: A Reflective Analysis

Does a monohybrid cross prove the law of dominance in Mendelian genetics?

True or False

True

Yes, a monohybrid cross serves as a proof for Mendel's law of dominance. This is exemplified in Mendel's own experiments with pea plants where the offspring showed the dominant trait when one parent had dominant and the other had recessive traits.

Explanation: True, a monohybrid cross does prove the law of dominance of Mendelian genetics. This law, proposed by Gregor Mendel, states that in a heterozygote one trait will conceal the presence of another trait for the same characteristic. In simpler terms, the dominant trait hides the recessive trait in the offspring. Mendel demonstrated this law through his experiments with pea plants. For example, when crossing true-breeding violet-flowered plants with true-breeding white-flowered plants, all of the offspring were violet-flowered, evidencing the dominance of the violet color trait.

Mendel observed a 3:1 phenotypic ratio in the F2 generation, with the dominant trait (violet in this case) appearing in the majority. This demonstrated that the dominant trait hides the recessive one unless the offspring inherits two recessive alleles.