What type of genetic cross involves parents that differ in only one trait?

A genetic cross that involves parents differing in only one trait is referred to as a monohybrid cross. This type of cross is fundamental in Mendelian genetics, as it allows researchers to observe how a single characteristic is inherited through generations. In a monohybrid cross, one parent may exhibit a dominant trait while the other displays a recessive trait for that particular characteristic.

For example, if one parent is homozygous for purple flower color (a dominant trait) and the other is homozygous for white flower color (a recessive trait), the resulting offspring will uniformly express the dominant trait if only one trait is considered.

This method is crucial in studying Mendel’s laws of inheritance, particularly the law of segregation, which states that the alleles for a trait separate during gamete formation. The simplicity of a monohybrid cross provides clear insights into dominant and recessive allele interactions, making it a foundational concept in genetics.

In contrast, the other types of crosses involve either multiple traits or different approaches to genetic analysis, which diverge from the simplicity of a monohybrid cross, focused solely on one trait.