The History of Genetics

• Who is considered the founding father of genetics?

  Gregor Mendel
• What was Gregor Mendel's profession?

  Austrian scientist and monk
• What did farmers know about crossbreeding by the 1800s?

  It could lead to more favorable offspring
• What traits did Mendel study in pea plants?

  Height, flower color, and pod color
• What was the first experiment Mendel conducted with pea plants?

  • Crossed a green pea plant with a yellow pea plant
  • All offspring were yellow pea plants
• What was the result when Mendel crossed two yellow pea plants from the first generation?

  Three quarters were yellow, one quarter green
• Why did Mendel conclude that hereditary units were involved in traits?

  Because traits were passed on in patterns
• What did Mendel call the units that were passed on from one generation to the next?

  Hereditary units
• What are dominant and recessive hereditary units?

  Dominant units are expressed; recessive are not
• Why did the green pod trait appear in the third generation?

  It had two copies of the recessive unit
• What pattern did Mendel find in his experiments with different traits?

  • Traits are passed down in a dominant-recessive manner
  • Similar patterns observed across various traits
• What significant scientific knowledge was lacking during Mendel's time?

  Knowledge of DNA and genes
• What discovery was made towards the end of the 1800s related to genetics?

  Discovery of chromosomes and their behavior
• How did scientists connect Mendel's hereditary units to chromosomes in the early 1900s?

  They noticed similarities between them
• What major structure of DNA was discovered in the 1950s?

  The double helix structure
• What was achieved in 2003 regarding human genetics?

  Sequencing of the entire human genome
• What is the historical significance of Mendel's work in genetics?

  • Laid the foundation for modern genetics
  • Established principles of inheritance
  • Influenced future genetic research