Remember:

• Heredity - the passing of traits from parents to offspring

• Genetics - the study of heredity

Gregor Mendel

• before Mendel: people knew traits were passed down, but were unsure how

• Austrian monk and biologist (1822-1884)

• studied pea plants over many generations

• "Father of Genetics"

His Research

• studied over 10,000 pea plants

• chose peas because they pollinate easily

• studied: seed color, seed shape, plant height, pod shape, pod color, flower location, flower color

His Discovery

• Genes come in pairs, one from each parent

• One gene is called an allele

• You have two genes for each trait (eye color, hair color, etc.)

His Discovery

• Genes are inherited separately

• Example: you can inherit your mom's blue eyes gene, but not her black hair gene

His Discovery

• Genes can come in different forms, but the dominant one be expressed

• Example: If you inherit a curly hair gene and a straight hair gene, you will see curly hair (the dominant one)

• Example: You will only see straight hair if you inherited TWO straight hair genes

Late Recognition

• He published his research in 1865, but no one understood its importance.

• After Mendel died, his fellow monks burned most of his work.

• Leftovers were rediscovered in 1900 and finally appreciated!