Question

A litter of four kittens includes one with black hair and blue eyes, one with black hair and orange eyes, one with brown tabby hair and blue eyes, and one with brown tabby hair and orange eyes. Which of Mendel's Laws is well illustrated by this diversity of kitten types?

Answer 1

Answer:

Law of independent assortment

Explanation:

According to Gregor Mendel who he performed a performed a cross involving two different genes i.e. a dihybrid cross, he stated that the allele of one gene will get sorted into gametes independently of the alleles of the other gene. He called this the LAW OF INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT.

He obtained a 9:3:3:1 ratio when he performed this cross, which was only expected if each gametes contained the two genes in a combined state i.e. the dominant allele for one gene is equally likely to contain a dominant or recessive allele for the other gene in a gamete.

In this case, it appears the black hair and blue eyes are dominant alleles respectively while the tabby hair and orange eyes are recessive alleles respectively. If these alleles assort independently and combine in different ways, it will give rise to diverse genotypes and phenotypes in the kitten as illustated in the different phenotypic expression of eye color and hair color in the kitten.