Experiments with Plant Hybrids
article by Mendel
Also known as: “Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden”
Quick Summary
Gregor Mendel, an Austrian scientist, is known as the father of modern genetics. Through his experiments with garden pea hybrids, he discovered the fundamental principles of heredity. Mendel's work, published in 1866, was not recognized until 1900.12
He meticulously tracked single traits, such as seed color and flower color, and counted the resulting plants. This quantitative approach led him to formulate key genetic laws:2
- Law of Segregation: Hereditary units (genes) are passed down as distinct entities. Gene pairs separate during gamete formation, with each gamete receiving one gene from the pair.32
- Law of Dominance: One allele can mask the expression of another. For example, the allele for yellow seeds is dominant over the allele for green seeds.32
- Law of Independent Assortment: Alleles for different genes segregate independently of each other during gamete formation, leading to new combinations of traits in offspring.432
Mendel's laws apply to the inheritance of many traits across various organisms.5
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