Chapter 11

Introduction to Genetics
 Johann Gregor Mendel
(1822–1884)

• Born into a farming family in

(today) Czech Republic
• Got a scholarship and studied in
university of Vienna
 Against parents wishes
 Johann Gregor Mendel
(1822–1884)

• Became a monk and worked

at the monastery
• Taught high school and
university students
– Botany, physics, natural
sciences
• Tended to his private
monastery gardens
 Tending the Gardens

• Big interest in beekeeping

– Bred aggressive strains
• Interest in mice breeding
– Noticed patterns
“resemblance”
• Decided to start experimenting
 Tending the Gardens

• Common garden pea plant

– “A model system”

Pisum sativum
 Garden Experiments

• Problem with “true breeding” pea plants

• Cross Pollination

Khan Academy – Mendel and his peas

Garden Experiments

• Crossing for contrasting traits

– Pea shape (round or wrinkled)
– Pea color (green or yellow)
– Pod shape (constricted or inflated)
– Pod color (green or yellow)
– Flower color (purple or white)
– Plant size (tall or dwarf)
– Position of flowers (axial or terminal)
• Creating “Hybrids”
 Mendel’s Conclusions

• P “Parental” generation
• F1 “Filial” generation
Mendel’s Conclusions

1- “An individual’s characteristics are determined by

factors that are passed from one parental generation to
the next”

2- The Principle of Dominance

Mendel’s Results

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