Answer & Solution
Answer: Option
D
Solution:
The question refers to the characteristics studied by Gregor Mendel in his famous experiments with pea plants.
These characteristics include flower colour (red/white), plant height (tall/dwarf), and seed characteristics (colour and shape).
Let's understand the options:
1. Linkage (Options A and B - Incomplete Linkage and Complete Linkage):
Linkage refers to genes located close together on the same chromosome that tend to be inherited together.
Mendel's success in formulating his laws, especially the Law of Independent Assortment, was partly because the traits he studied were either on different chromosomes or far enough apart on the same chromosome.
This means they generally did not exhibit significant linkage; instead, they assorted independently. If they were significantly linked, Mendel's observations would have been much more complex.
Therefore, neither incomplete nor complete linkage is the correct answer here.
2. Penetrance (Options C and D - Incomplete Penetration and Complete Penetration):
Penetrance (sometimes referred to as 'penetration' in older texts or as a common typo) describes the proportion of individuals with a particular genotype who actually express the associated phenotype.
* Complete Penetrance (Option D): This means that 100% of individuals who have a specific genotype will express the corresponding phenotype.
* Incomplete Penetrance (Option C): This means that some individuals with a particular genotype may not express the expected phenotype, even though they carry the genes for it.
For the traits Mendel studied in pea plants (like flower colour, plant height, seed colour, and shape), the expression was very consistent and clear.
For example, if a pea plant had the genetic makeup (genotype) for "tallness," it always grew tall. If it had the genotype for "dwarfness," it always grew dwarf.
There were no known cases where a plant with the "tall" genotype unexpectedly turned out dwarf because the gene didn't show its effect properly.
This consistent and unambiguous expression of the traits, where the genotype always shows its expected phenotype, is characteristic of Complete Penetrance.
Mendel was fortunate to choose traits that showed such clear and predictable patterns, allowing him to establish his fundamental laws of heredity.
Therefore, the traits mentioned all exhibit Complete Penetration (or Complete Penetrance).
