Gregor Mendel

Problems
Multiple alleles
Monohybrid
Mendel
Incomplete
Disorders
Dihybrid
Codominance
Chapter 7main
Gregor Mendel, A monk in an Austrian monastery conducted experiments on pea plants in the 1860's.  Mendel was a person who was curious about how traits were passed down from one generation of pea plant to other generations of pea plants Mendel used a mathematical approach to discovering this mystery, as he was trained in mathematics and science.  Mendel used a quantitative approach in conducting his research.  He relied on data from counting and measuring to give him the data he needed to conclude that:
     1.  Traits were seen because of "factors" that coded for a trait.
     2.  Each parent had 2 "factors" for each trait expressed.
     3.  Each parent gave one "factor" for each trait to the offspring
          giving the offspring 2 factors.
     4.  Alternate forms of factors are called alleles
The thing that Mendel did not know about, and nobody did conclusively until DNA was discovered in the 1950's, that the traits were coded by segments of DNA called Genes.  Each chromosome has many genes on them.  Some have more than others

Why Study Peas?
     Pea plants are easy to grow, they produce many offspring, very quickly.  It is very easy to manipulate how and when pea plants can breed.  Even though pea plants have both male and female structures in the flower and can reproduce by itself, Mendel could control what plants bred to others, and when they bred.