What does Mendel's law of independent assortment refer to?

Mendel's law of independent assortment states that the alleles for different traits are distributed to gametes independently of one another during meiosis. This means that the inheritance of one trait will not affect the inheritance of another trait, allowing for a variety of combinations in the offspring. When considering traits governed by different genes, this principle highlights that the segregation of alleles for one gene occurs without impacting the segregation of alleles for another gene.

This understanding is fundamental to genetic diversity, as it enables different combinations of traits to be formed in the offspring, which can manifest in various phenotypes. The independent assortment enhances genetic variability within a population and has significant implications in breeding, evolutionary biology, and genetics as a whole.

The other concepts do not align with Mendel's law of independent assortment. The idea of alleles being inherited together directly contradicts the notion of independent assortment. The assertion regarding only dominant traits being expressed relates to dominance relationships rather than independent assortment. Lastly, while environmental influences can affect trait expression, this is not captured by Mendel’s law, which specifically addresses genetic segregation.