Gregor Johann Mendel – Father of Genetics

Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian scientist known as the "Father of Genetics." He made groundbreaking discoveries about how traits are passed from parents to offspring through his studies on pea plants. Born in Moravia in 1822, Mendel was the son of a peasant farmer. He used his background in science and mathematics to study inheritance systematically.

• Mendel studied seven traits in pea plants, such as flower colour, seed shape, and pod colour.
• He used a hybridisation technique to cross plants with different traits.
• He analysed the inheritance of one trait at a time (monohybrid crosses) and combinations of two or three traits at a time (dihybrid and trihybrid crosses).
• Mendel processed his experimental data mathematically and statistically, which was a unique approach at the time.
• His findings provided an accurate explanation of inheritance mechanisms, making his work revolutionary.
• Mendel’s principles were not widely accepted during his lifetime.
• His work was rediscovered in 1900 by scientists like Correns, who confirmed the principles and named them the Laws of Heredity.

Gregor Johann Mendel
(Birth: 20th July 1822, Death: 6th Jan 1884)

Mendel proposed that "factors" (now called genes) control traits. These genes:

• Occur in pairs in parents.
• Separate (segregate) during the formation of gametes.
• Pass to offspring without blending or mixing.

Mendel’s principles form the foundation of modern genetics. The term "genes" was later introduced to describe the Mendelian factors.

Principles of Heredity:

1. Law of Segregation: Each trait is controlled by two "factors" (now called genes) that separate during gamete formation. These factors do not blend or mix but remain distinct.
2. Law of Independent Assortment: The inheritance of one trait does not affect the inheritance of another trait. This applies only to traits located on different chromosomes.