[Campbell Biology P.354] What was Alfred Sturtevant's key hypothesis for constructing a gene... | Practice Question

What was Alfred Sturtevant's key hypothesis for constructing a genetic map?

  • A: The frequency of recombination between two genes is proportional to the distance between them.
  • B: All genes on a chromosome are completely linked and cannot be separated.
  • C: The closer two genes are, the higher the recombination frequency.
  • D: One map unit is equivalent to a 10% recombination frequency.

Explanation

The text states that Sturtevant predicted that 'the farther apart two genes are, the higher the probability that a crossover will occur between them and therefore the higher the recombination frequency.' This direct proportionality is the foundational principle of linkage mapping.