Final answer:
The maximum recombination distance between loci is 50 centimorgans (cM), at which point they are considered to segregate independently, indicative of a recombination frequency of 0.5 or 50%. This reflects a situation where offspring have an equal chance of inheriting any combination of alleles, demonstrating independent assortment.
Step-by-step explanation:
The maximum calculated recombination distance between any loci is 50 centimorgans (cM). At this point, the loci are considered to segregate independently, which is in alignment with Mendel's law of independent assortment. A recombination frequency of 0.5 (or 50%) indicates that genes are perfectly unlinked and implies that alleles assort independently during gamete formation, leading to a situation where offspring have a 50-50 chance of inheriting any combination of alleles from their parents.
This recombination frequency corresponds to a scenario where 50 percent of offspring are recombinants and the other 50 percent are parental types, which means that the genes are equally likely to be inherited together or separately.
To construct a chromosome map, geneticists, like Alfred Sturtevant, used recombination frequencies to estimate the genetic distance between genes on a chromosome. When genes were found to have a recombination frequency less than 50%, they were considered linked and, therefore, closer together, whereas a recombination frequency approaching 50% indicated that the genes could be either very far apart on the same chromosome or on different chromosomes.