Mendel and Genetics

• Who is known for the foundational work in genetics?

  Gregor Mendel
• What did Mendel's work help to explain?

  Understanding of genetics
• Why was Mendel's discovery not recognized during his lifetime?

  Scientists believed in blended inheritance
• What are genes and alleles?

  • Genes: Sections of DNA on chromosomes
  • Alleles: Different versions of a gene
• What do genes determine in an organism?

  Amino acid sequence of proteins
• What did Mendel discover about characteristics during inheritance?

  They are not blended
• How did Mendel describe the units that determine characteristics?

  As inherited units that do not change
• What are the units that Mendel discovered now called?

  Genes
• What happens to some characteristics in later generations according to Mendel?

  They can be masked and reappear
• What is the dominant allele for flower color in pea plants?

  Allele for purple flowers
• What misconception did many scientists hold about inheritance during Mendel's time?

  That characteristics were blended
• How did scientists' understanding of chromosomes change in relation to Mendel's work?

  They realized genes behave like chromosomes
• What significant discovery was made about genes in the mid-1900s?

  The structure of DNA was determined
• What are the key points of Mendelian genetics?

  • Characteristics are determined by genes
  • Genes can be dominant or recessive
  • Inheritance does not blend characteristics
  • Genes are located on chromosomes
• What type of plants did Mendel use for his experiments?

  Pea plants
• What did Mendel's experiments reveal about the relationship between pod shape and flower color?

  They are independent traits
• When was Mendel's work rediscovered?

  Late 1800s
• What did scientists realize about Mendel's units by the early 1900s?

  They are located on chromosomes
• What did Mendel publish his research in?

  A scientific paper
• What did Mendel's research contribute to the field of biology?

  Foundation for genetics