When genes are being inherited i.e passed from parents to offspring, they can do so in two ways;
- Independently as explained in Mendel’s second law
- Linked which is a deviation from Mendelian Genetics.
What determines if two or more genes will be inherited/assorted independently or linked is the distance between them. Genes with a distance of 50cM or more will be independently inherited/assorted but genes with a distance less than 50cM will be linked. This is because the closer the genes are on the chromosome, the harder it is for them to cross over in Meiosis. Centi-Morgan (cM) is a measure of the distance between the loci of different genes.
Distance between genes=Recombination frequency=(Number of Recombinant