Mendel’s Experiment :
Definition :
Gregor Johann Mendel performed experiments with pea plant and discovered the fundamental laws of inheritance.
Introduction :
Mendel’s discovery was based on precise quantitation of experimental crosses and exceptional abstract thinking. He studied crosses between peas (Pisum sativum) that had paws of contrasting characters.
Mendel chose garden pea (Pisum sativum) as plant material for his experiments because :
- Pea plant was self- fertilizing as petals enclose reproductive organs till fertilization (fig.) Mendel utilized this phenomenon, in obtaining “Pure bred”/pure line” pea plants for this he self- pollinated plants for many generations, to obtain “ Pure line” with the constant trial in pea plants.
- The pea plants were easy to cultivate and from one generation to next took only single growing season and have short lifespan
- Peas had many sharply defined inherited characters Thus, possess desirable characters.
- Cross-pollination and fertilization can be achieved easily (For cross-pollination, he removed another from a plant, this process called emasculation) (fig.)
- The flowers are bisexual and hermaphrodite.
- Mendel chose 7 pairs of contrasting characters for his study.
Mendel used plants that have white and red flowers, smooth and enough seeds, yellow and green seeds long and short stems and so forth.
After crossing the parental generation (P1), he observed the resulting hybrids of the first filial generation, F1. Then he crossed the hybrids (F1) among themselves and studied the result in the second filial generation F2.