Question

Mendel's law of independent assortment has its basis in which of the following events in meiosis I?

A) formation of the mitotic spindle in prophase I
B) cytokinesis at the end of telophase I
C) alignment of non-homologous pairs on the metaphase plate in metaphase I
B) crossing over in prophase I
E) synapsis of homologous chromosomes in prophase I

Answer 1

Mendel's law of independent assortment has its basis in the alignment of non-homologous pairs on the metaphase plate in metaphase I of meiosis I. During metaphase I, the homologous pairs of chromosomes line up at the metaphase plate, and the orientation of each pair is random and independent of the orientation of other pairs. This means that the way one pair of chromosomes lines up does not affect the way any other pair lines up. This random alignment of chromosomes is the basis for the independent assortment of genes, which is one of the fundamental principles of Mendelian genetics. Therefore, the correct answer is C) alignment of non-homologous pairs on the metaphase plate in metaphase I.