Premium Essay

Gregor Mendel

In:

Submitted By desiree79
Words 444
Pages 2
Mendel on Patterns of Inheritance Gregor Mendel, a monk, well read in natural sciences (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006, p. 64), wanted to answer the unanswered questions that stemmed from Darwin’s theory about heredity. He chose to study the pea plant to gain knowledge about how heredity works. Mendel’s success is contributed to the way he chose to conduct his experiments. Mendel decided to keep his control group small, unlike many of his colleagues, focusing on only seven traits. He kept excellent records of all of the results of the experiments and his choice to study the pea plant, “an organism that can be easily manipulated in breeding experiments” (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006, p. 64) proved to be a good move. Mendel also used “mathematical analysis” (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006, p. 64), an uncommon approach in his day, for showing results of the experiments. A few of Mendel’s discovered six major principles about heredity from his research. An example of one of his principles states that for every gene there are two factors or alleles, “the different forms a gene might take” (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006, p. 68). If an organism has two alike alleles for a specific trait the organism is considered homozygous for that trait; homo meaning the same. On the flip side, if an organism has two alleles that are different then the organism is considered heterozygous for that trait; hetero meaning different (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006). Another example of Mendel’s findings is that before reproduction, the alleles are split so that the gametes, or reproductive cells, only have one allele from each pair. When fertilization occurs the gametes join together, each bringing one allele to the new brood. In Mendel’s law of segregation, Mendel states that “heterozygous parents are equally likely to pass

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Gregor Mendel Segregation

...Gregor Mendel is the scientist who discovered the study of genetics. He started studying the genetic inheritance in pea plants. After that he came up with three laws of the concept of modern genetics which are Mendel’s low of segregation, Mendel’s low of independent assortment, and Mendel’s low of dominance. Mendel’s low of segregation, Mendel stats that every trait has two alleles and every gamete receive just one of this allele. The Law of Independent assortment states that the allele for a separate trait is independently for another trait. Drosophila melanogaster, the famous fruit flies, which geneticists have used as a model in their experiments for many years. Due to the size, amount of offspring produced, easy to discover the mutation,...

Words: 402 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Gregor Mendel Research Paper

...Gregor Mendel was a genius of a scientist. He is considered the man who discovered modern genetics. Mendel discovered this 'genetics' one day while working in his garden. He was growing peas in 1856 and he worked with 7 characteristics of pea plants. All including pea shape, pea color, pod shape, pod color, flower color, plant size or height, and position of the flowers. These experiments lasted until 1863. Mendel bred his peas by taking pollen from both of the pea plants and cross breeding them. He has terms as well. "Recessive" and "dominant." The green peas being recessive and the yellow being dominant. He was never a type of person wanting to be recognized for fame. Three decades later, in 1900, three scientist who were doing agricultural research, came across his paper from 1866....

Words: 525 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Fruit Fly Lab

...Analysis/Discussion: Mendel had three different laws to describe genetics which were The Law of Segregation, The Law of Independent Assortment, and The Law of Dominance. Law of Dominance - The law of dominates states that one factor for a trait will be dominant, and the other will turn out to be recessive. As an Example, if a hybrid red fly (Rr) crossed with a pure white fly (rr), the results (50% Rr, and 50% rr) would carry the white gene (r). Though only 50% of fruit fly would show it cause of the dominance of the red trait (R). Law of Segregation - This sates that two alleles for a trait are split half and half into the gametes, which give the offspring an equal chance of getting either one. An example, in all of the punter squares that each fly was given the chance to have each trait, even though a couple may not have been shown. A red fly has an equal possibility to be red as thew other fly. Law of Independence - This law states that alleles for different traits are passed on independently. This means that each gene (alleles) combination is likely to occur. As an example, each offspring get one gene from each...

Words: 738 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Mr Janeel Brown

...Mendel’s plant breeding of Pea Plants Gregor Mendel, a German scientists [Pictured Right], has suddenly rose to fame after founding modern science of genetics. Mendel worked with seven characteristics of pea plants: plant height, pod shape and color, seed shape and color, and flower position and color. With seed color, he was able to demonstrate that that when a yellow pea and a green pea were bred together, in concluded in their offspring plant always being yellow. However, in the next generation of plants, the green peas reappeared at a ratio of 1:3. To explain his strange discovery, Mendel coined the terms “recessive” and “dominant” in reference to certain traits (Yellow peas are clearly dominant according to his recent studies, and green peas are recessive) He published his work in 1866, demonstrating the actions of invisible “factors”—now called genes—in providing for visible traits in predictable ways. Who is he? Mendel was born into an ethnic German family in Heinzendorf bei Odrau, Moravian-Silesian border, Austrian Empire (now known as Hynčice, Czech Republic). He was the son of Rosine and Anton Mendel, and had one younger sister called Theresia and one older called Veronika. They worked and lived on a farm which had been owned by the Mendel family for about 130 years. During his childhood, Mendel worked as a gardener and studied beekeeping. Later, as a young man, he attended gymnasium in Opava. He had to take four months off during his gymnasium studies due to medical...

Words: 294 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Gregor Johann Mendel

...Mendel Leben: Name: Gregor Johann Mendel geboren: 20. Juli 1822, gestorben 6. Januar 1884 Beruf: Katholischer Priester wird oft als „Vater der Genetik“ bezeichnet Kloster: Augustiner-Abtei St. Thomas in Alt Brünn 1856: Beginn systematischer Kreuzungsexperimente Vorgehensweise: Mendel kreuzte Pflanzen untereinander, um die Vererbung von Merkmalen zu erforschen. Er wählte zunächst Erbsenpflanzen, da sie mehrere konstante und unterschiedliche Merkmale aufweisen und der Blütenbau Fremdbestäubung verhindert, was die künstliche Befruchtung jedoch erschwert. Er befruchtete sie, indem er mit Pinzetten Pollen der einen Pflanze auf die Narbe der anderen auftrug und sie mithilfe von kleinen Papierbeuteln unter Verschluss hielt, sodass keine ungewollte Bestäubung durch z.B. Bienen oder Wind stattfinden konnte. Zusätzlich entfernte er vorzeitig die Staubgefäße. Er kreuzte zwei Jahre lang Erbsensorten, bis sie gleiche und konstante Nachkommen hatten. Diese waren die Grundlage für seine Kreuzungsversuche. Die Versuche waren genau geplant und wurden exakt protokolliert, sodass das Ergebnis statistisch abgesichert war. Dazu zählte er stets mehrere tausend Nachkommen aus. Mendel ging davon aus, dass die Eigenschaften in dem Organismus gemeinsam wirken, aber getrennt vorliegen. Dies widersprach der damaligen Auffassung, dass sich die Merkmale vermischen und nachher nicht mehr von einander getrennt werden können. Er kam so zu der Annahme, dass es dominante...

Words: 450 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Mendelian Genetics, Scientific Paper

...Mendel’s “First Law”: Observing Anthocyanin in Brassica rapa Abstract The foundation of genetics lies with the principles that Gregor Mendel outlined after his experiments with pea plants where he discovered the relationship between physical characteristics, or phenotype, and genetic traits, or genotype. This experiment aimed to reproduce Mendel’s results with the Brassica rapa plant, noted for it’s fast generation time, and anthocyanin, a purple pigment that can be visually tracked through subsequent generations. It is important for experiments resulting in scientific discovery to be replicable and peer reviewed. Since Mendelian genetics are the foundation of scientific education, including answering questions about evolution and heredity of beneficial or fatal genes, his experiment is a valid and important choice. The hypothesis was that the presence of anthocyanin in Brassica rapa follows Mendel’s laws. By germinating the P1 generation and creating the F1 and F2 generations through pollination the hypothesis was tested. The experimental hypothesis was accepted with ------ error and the null hypothesis that these results were due to chance was rejected. Introduction A phenotype provides a clear visual cue for examining the inheritance pattern of genotypes and whether or not these patterns follow Mendelian genetic principles. Gregor Mendel is someone who is often referred to as the “father of genetics,” and discovered important theory pertaining to heredity. He did this...

Words: 3273 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Thomas Hunt Morgan A Geneticist

...At the beginning of the 20th century, geneticists began to understand the laws of heredity and the origin of new variability from the mutation. However, since evolution is a process that develops over time, it was necessary to investigate how the variability present in a population behaved across generations. Thomas Hunt Morgan, who was a geneticist and embryologist of that era, was one of the first to explain the genetics based on the laws of Gregor Mendel, who was known as the creator of the science of genetics for his experiments in plants. He used in his study the Drosophila melanogaster, which is a species of fly that is known as the fruit fly as it is found feeding on fruits that are in the fermentation process. This species is very used...

Words: 508 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

I Really Don't Know

...Chapter 14 Mendel and the Gene Idea Lecture Outline Overview • Every day we observe heritable variations (such as brown, green, or blue eyes) among individuals in a population. • These traits are transmitted from parents to offspring. • One possible explanation for heredity is a “blending” hypothesis. ° This hypothesis proposes that genetic material contributed by each parent mixes in a manner analogous to the way blue and yellow paints blend to make green. ° With blending inheritance, a freely mating population will eventually give rise to a uniform population of individuals. ° Everyday observations and the results of breeding experiments tell us that heritable traits do not blend to become uniform. • An alternative model, “particulate” inheritance, proposes that parents pass on discrete heritable units, genes, that retain their separate identities in offspring. ° Genes can be sorted and passed on, generation after generation, in undiluted form. • Modern genetics began in an abbey garden, where a monk named Gregor Mendel documented a particulate mechanism of inheritance. A. Gregor Mendel’s Discoveries 1. Mendel brought an experimental and quantitative approach to genetics. • Mendel discovered the basic principles of heredity by breeding garden peas in carefully planned experiments. • Mendel grew up on a small farm in what is today the Czech Republic. • In 1843, Mendel entered an Augustinian monastery. • He...

Words: 6555 - Pages: 27

Premium Essay

Heredity

...Heredity Heredity is the transmission from one generation to the next of factors that determine the traits of offspring. Although successful breeding of plants and animals was practiced by humans long before modern civilizations were established, there is no evidence that these early people understood the nature of hereditary factors or how they are transmitted through reproduction. EARLY HISTORY One of the early Greek philosophers, Pythagoras (582-509 BC), postulated that all traits of an offspring are derived solely from its father's semen. Aristotle thought that females also produce semen and that the embryo is formed by a fusion in the uterus of both types of semen. He further postulated that both male and female semen are produced by the body's blood. Leeuwenhoek Until the 17th century, European medical schools taught that hereditary factors in the semen were derived from vapors emanating from each body organ. However, Anton van LEEUWENHOEK observed human semen through his microscope and reported finding "animalcules." It became generally accepted that sperm were the actual carriers of hereditary factors from males to their offspring. Other biologists studied the ovaries of animals, noted the presence of swollen bodies--which they correctly assumed contained eggs--and hypothesized that these eggs were also units of transmission of hereditary factors. Epigenesis Some biologists of the 17th and 18th centuries believed that they saw miniature individuals...

Words: 1922 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

DNA In The 19th Century

...In the 19th century Gregor Mendel started to recognize inheritances or traits passed from parents to offspring in a very consistent pattern. Thanks to new technology in the 1940s and the 1950s like higher powered microscopes scientists could see what they could never see before. They discovered chromosomes and found that they were made out of something called DNA as well as proteins. Further experiments led them to realize that DNA held the code of life. Soon enough scientists started asking what DNA was made of and why it is so important. What they discovered was that DNA consists of four nitrogenous bases called adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. Scientists still wanted to learn how all living things in this world could be created by...

Words: 469 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Genetic Analysis in Plants

...made up of a series of genes. Each characteristic, such as color and texture, rely on the genetic coding of the organism. These genes can be passed along, mixed with other genes, or removed throughout the generations. The process of traits being passed from parent to offspring is called gene transmission. (Bailey, 2014) In the 1860’s a monk, Gregor Mendel set basic principles for heredity. His first law was Mendel’s law of segregation. He discovered this law while studying pea plants. He studied a series of seven different traits. (Bailey, 2014) He first observed and confirmed through experimentation that one pea plant of a certain color could self fertilize and produce another pea plant of the same color. He referred to the process of these self-fertilizing pea plants as true-breeding. (Urry et. Al, 2014) Mendel continued his studies of pea plants by testing that outcome of cross-pollination between two true-breeding plants. He took the two parent plants, one green and one yellow, and found the offspring to be all green. He continued experimenting by crossing two of the offspring from the first generation plants. Mendel found that in the second generation, an offspring color appeared from the parents that were lost in the first generation. His law of segregation explains that allele pairs segregate during the formation stage, but are capable of uniting during the fertilization stage. (Bailey 2014) Offspring inherit specific genes from their parents to obtain...

Words: 2405 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Mendelian Genetics

...MENDELIAN GENETICS DEFINITION OF TERMS * Genetics – the study of heredity and variation * Heredity – the transmission of traits from one generation to another, from parents to offspring; the protoplasmic continuity between parents and offspring * Variation – any difference existing between individuals of the same species * Chromosome – rod-shaped body in the nucleus of eukaryotes and prokaryotes that contains the hereditary units or genes seen particularly during cell division * Gene – the unit or heredity occupying a particular location on the chromosome and passed on to offspring * Locus – the location of a gene on a chromosome * Diploid – the 2N number of chromosomes; twice the number of chromosomes found in gametes * Haploid – the N number of chromosomes; half the diploid number; the number characteristic of gametes that contain only one set of chromosomes * F1 generation – first filial generation; the first-generation offspring of a genetic cross that has at least two generation * F2 generation – second filial generation; the second-generation offspring of a genetic cross * Homozygous – a pair of similar of like genes for any one character * Heterozygous – a pair of contrasting traits of two kinds of genes * Genotype – the particular genes of an individual that determine a specific trait * Phenotype – the outward appearance of an organism, caused by genetic and environmental influences * Allele –...

Words: 3129 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Fruit Fly Lab

...or autosomal trait? Introduction: Heredity is the study of acquiring traits by birth. A genotype is the alleles of an organism. A phenotype is the characteristics of an organism. Homozygous means having two identical alleles of a gene. A dominant allele is an allele that has the same effect on the phenotype whether it is present in the homozygous or heterozygous state. A recessive allele is an allele that only has an effect on the phenotype when present in the homozygous state. Heterozygous means having two different alleles of a gene. A carrier is an individual that has one copy of a recessive allele that causes genetic disease in individuals that are homozygous for this allele. We are going to do an experiment similar to what Gregor Mendel did with pea plants where we observe 3 generations and record the ratios of the phenotypes. The P generations were selected at the company that bred the flies for us (Carolina Biological). The P generation is purebred for their particular phenotype (Homozygous). The day that they were placed in the vials is marked on the vials, as well as the phenotypes of the p generation. After 2 weeks of breeding and laying eggs, the P generation was removed and the vials were shipped. The flies that you are working with today are the F1 generation. Then we selected 5 male and females flies and placed them in a vial with culture medium. After about 10 days we will remove the F1 flies and count the F2 flies. From that data we will determine if the trait...

Words: 1183 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Application of Biostatistics in Medical Genetics

...APPLICATION OF STATISTICS IN MEDICAL GENETICS INTRODUCTION "Significance" has a very particular meaning in biology thanks to statistics. How does this term prove an experiment's results are worth special attention? Once one has performed an experiment, how can one tell if the results are significant? For example, say if we are performing a genetic cross in which we know the genotypes of the parents. In this situation, we might hypothesize that the cross will result in a certain ratio of phenotypes in the offspring. But what if our observed results do not exactly match our expectations? How can we tell whether this deviation was due to chance? The key to answering these questions is the use of statistics, which allows us, geneticists, to determine whether our data are consistent with our hypothesis. Statistics and Human Genetics are twin subjects, having grown with the century together, and there are many connections between the two. Some fundamental aspects in particular the concept of Analysis of Variance, first arose in Human Genetics, while statistical and probabilistic methods are now central to many aspects of analysis of questions is human genetics. The most common areas where one can find an extensive applications of statistical methods in human genetics is * Human Genome Project * Linkage Analysis * Sequencing STATISTICAL GENETICS Statistical Genetics involves the identification of genetic variation to help us understand why certain people are...

Words: 3309 - Pages: 14

Free Essay

Genetic Engineering Outline

...Composition 1 April, 11th 2013 Genetic Engineering Tentative Thesis:  Even though altering DNA can lead to such horrifying events as genocide or viral diseases, genetic engineering is an important scientific breakthrough because by altering DNA, we can cure many diseases and solve many of mankind's problems. 1. History of Genetic Engineering A. What Led to the need for genetic engineering a. Prehistoric Times-1900 B. Gregor Mandel b. European botanist genetically altering plants 2. Modern Genetic Engineering C. DNA c. Watson & Krick 1. discover DNA a. How it affected science d. Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen 2. recombinant DNA D. Government e. Supreme Court 3. Diamond v. Chakrabarty f. FDA 4. Approval of genetic engineered food 5. Field Testing b. Tobacco c. Tomatoes g. International Bio-safety Protocol E. Advancements & Achievements h. Technology i. Disease curing j. World Hunger 3. Ethical Issues F. Religious k. Are we playing God? G. Environmental l. What’re the long term environmental effects H. Bio Ethics m. What if we make something we can’t control n. Is it possible the technology may be used to create slaves? o. When does...

Words: 267 - Pages: 2