independent assortment
independent assortment (random assortment) The random distribution in the gametes of separate genes. If an individual has one pair of alleles A and a, and another pair B and b (this genotype being represented as AaBb) then it should produce equal numbers of four types of gamete: AB, Ab, aB, and ab. The assortment of alleles of one gene occurs independently of that of the alleles of the other gene. This is found experimentally with many pairs of genes, and is asserted in Mendel's second law, known as the law of independent assortment: in fact, though, it applies only to distantly linked or unlinked genes (see LINKAGE).
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independent assortment
