Activity 60:  Mendel, First Geneticist 

Notes

1.  Mendel’s life

          Studied to be a teacher

                         i.      Math

                        ii.      Botany

                       iii.      Plant breeding

                        iv.      Studied pea plants & inheritance of them

1.  Experiments with Pea Plants

               Excellent organisms to study

                         i.      Grow quickly

                         ii.      Produce numerous seeds

                         iii.      Many observable characteristics

1. purple or white flowers
2. yellow or green pods
3. green or yellow seed color
4. wrinkled or smooth seed surface

                       iv.      Third generation came out 3:1 ratio every time

                        v.      Second generation:  Recessive trait was hidden

**Every plant has two copies of the gene for each characteristic.  These two copies are called ALLELES.  Each offspring receives only one allele from each parent.  Two alleles come together to create the gene combination.