autosomal linkage

• autosome

  any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome
• autosomal gene

  found on chromosomes that are not sex chromosomes
• autosomal linkage

  the inheritance of genes that are found on the same autosome/ non sex chromosome
• • genes that are closely located on the same chromosome tend to be inherited together and are known as a linkage group. This is autosomal linkage
  • fewer genetic combinations of their alleles are possible, reducing the variation in the offspring.
  • in crosses where linkage is a contributing factor, a large proportion of the offspring are of the parental type
• • genes that are on the same chromosome will stay together during independent assortment. They will then be passed onto offspring together
  • the only reason this wont happen is if crossing over splits them up first
• • the closer 2 genes are on the same chromosome, the more closely they are linked and crossing over is less likely to split them apart
  • this makes them more closely linked. the further apart the 2 genes are on the same chromosome, the more likely they will be separated by crossing over. This leads to more recombinant gametes
• in humans, the autosomes are chromosome pairs 1-22