III.

MENDEL AND
THE GENE IDEA
 A. GREGOR MENDEL
LIST OF
CONTENTS MENDELS
B. EXPERIMENTAL,
QUANTITATIVE
APPROACH
introducing
Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-1884)

•'father of genetics'
•Born on 20 July 1822 in Heinzendorf,
Austria
•Child of Rosine and Anton Mendel
•1843, entered monastery Brün
• Studied at University of Viena
(1851-1853)
Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-1884)

•Physics Institute:
Mathematics,Chemistry, Entomology,
Paleontology, Botany & Plant Physiology
• Christian Doppler (discoverer of Doppler
effect) was one of his teacher.
•breeding experiments from 1856 to 1863
•Died at age of 61 on January 6, 1884
•1990, three botanist- Hugo de Vries, Erich von
Tschermak and Karl Correns

•Mendel's ideas gained acceptance through the effort

of William Bateson a British Biologist, coined the
term genetics

•Heredity: genetics: "to generate" in Greek

HUGO DE VRIES CARL CORRENS ERICH VON TSCHERMAK
OF HOLLAND OF GERMANY OF AUSTRIA
 MENDEL'S
EXPERIMENTAL,
QUANTITATIVE APPROACH
1. Experimental Organism: Garden Pea
(Pisum sativum)

• with male and female organs (self-

fertilization
•they cross-fertilize due to anatomy of pea
flower
• advantage: large number in short growing
season
2. Inheritance of clear-cut alternative form of traits
•purple vs. white flowers
• yellow vs. green peas

•discrete traits- are those which maintain a distinct phenotype.

ex.smooth or wrinkled.

•continuous traits- show many intermediate forms

ex. height
3. Mendel collected and prepetuated lines of
peas that bred true

•pure breeding lines (true breeding)

> carries specific parental traits constant from
generation to generation (inbred)

•white flower produce white flower

•purple flower produce purple flower
•Antagonistic pairs
>purple vs. white flowers
>yellow vs. green seeds

•Hybrids - offspring of
genetically dissimilar parents
•4. Reciprocal crosses
- reversed the traits of the male and female parents

example:
•pollen from purple flower to fertilize the egg
of white flower
•pollen from white flower to fertilize the
egg of purple flower
= progeny of reciprocal crosses were similar

•Mendel demonstrated that two parents contribute equally to

inheritance.
•Mendel worked with large numbers of plants.
•Mendel was the first person to study inheritance in this manner.
•Mendel's careful numerical analysis revealed patterns of transmission that
reflected basic laws of heredity.
•Mendel was a brilliant practical experimentalist.

•Mendel looked at discrete traits that came in two mutually exclusive forms
and asked questions that could be answered by observation and
computation.
THANKS
FOR
LISTENING!