Introduction

class="introduction"

class="summary" title="Sections Summary"

class="art-exercise" title="Art Connections"

class="multiple-choice" title="Multiple Choice"

class="free-response" title="Free Response"

Electron micrograph shows a long, thin chromosome that has a banding pattern.

The gene is the physical unit of inheritance, and genes are arranged in a linear order on chromosomes. The behaviors and interactions of chromosomes during meiosis explain, at a cellular level, the patterns of inheritance that we observe in populations. Genetic disorders involving alterations in chromosome number or structure may have dramatic effects and can prevent a fertilized egg from developing altogether.

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