Crossing Heterozygous Plants for Flowering Time

In exploring the complexities of genetic inheritance, researchers uncovered a unique gene associated with flowering time in a species of plant. This gene, referred to as Flowering-Time Gene (FTG), exhibits two alleles: a dominant allele (F) and a recessive allele (f). In a controlled experiment, two plants heterozygous for this gene (Ff) were crossed. The resulting offspring were observed, and their flowering times were recorded. The researchers found that plants inheriting at least one dominant allele (F) bloomed earlier than those with a homozygous recessive genotype (ff). The study provided fascinating insights into how genetic makeup directly affects phenotypic traits, illustrating key principles of Mendelian inheritance.