Gregor Mendel: Father of Modern Genetics and Man of Faith
by Owen Borville
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) was a geneticist and Augustinian friar who was born to German-speaking parents in the Austrian Empire (today’s Czech Republic). Mendel is recognized as the founder of modern genetics through his pea plant experiments conducted between 1856 and 1863, which established many of the laws of heredity. The large gardens attached next to his monastery gave Medel a location to perform his work. Between 1856 and 1863 Mendel cultivated and tested some 28,000 pea plants and along with his research developed the terms “recessive” and “dominant” to describe certain traits of the peas when they were cross-bred, particularly yellow peas and green peas. In 1866, Mendel explained that certain invisible factors determined the traits of an offspring organism. Today, these invisible factors are known as genes. Mendel’s research focused on seven traits: seed shape, flower color, seed coat tint, pod shape, unripe pod color, flower location, and plant height. When cross-breeding different varieties, Mendel found that one in four pea plants had purebred recessive traits, two out of four were hybrids, and one out of four were purebred dominant. Mendel’s studies also led to three laws of inheritance: the law of dominance, the law of segregation, and the law of independent assortment.
Mendel presented his paper, "Experiments on Plant Hybridization", at two meetings of the Natural History Society of Brünn in Moravia in 1865 and was published in 1866 in the Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Brunn. The significance of Mendel’s work was not recognized by the academic establishment until the 20th century, more than 30 years after his experimental work, when modern geneticists confirmed Mendel’s work. Mendel's work was in contrast to the theories of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin, who was living at the time but did not consider Mendel's work while proposing his theories. Mendel's work explained that the laws of inheritance did not allow limitless change, as Darwin's evolution claimed, but that change was only allowed within certain boundaries. Darwin also incorrectly believed that environmental factors could be inherited in new offspring. The science establishment was so enchanted with Darwin's work that Mendel's work was ignored for several decades, however by the 20th century modern science and genetics confirmed Mendel's work and mainstream scientists were forced to accept it in spite of Darwin's work. Mendel was known as a man of faith and a creationist and this could have caused the academic world to hesitate to approve his ideas.
Blending inheritance was the prevailing theory of genetic inheritance in the 19th century. Darwin and other scientists of his time believed in blended inheritance, where traits of two parents blended in the offspring and the child would receive and equal blend of each parent's traits. However, this was before the discovery of genes and chromosomes. Blending inheritance was proven incorrect in favor of particulate inheritance, which was introduced by Gregor Mendel, and proposed that traits are inherited in discrete units known today as genes. In particulate inheritance, instead of blending traits in the offspring, a type of gene called an allele is inherited from each parent but only one allele is shown in the offspring depending on several factors. For example, if one parent has brown hair and the other has red hair, only one of these colors will show in the offspring.
Mendel's Law of Segregation
Explains that allele pairs separate or segregate during gamete formation and randomly unite at fertilization.
Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment
Explains that when two or more characteristic traits are inherited, individual hereditary factors assort independently during gamete production, giving different traits an equal opportunity of occurring together.
Mendel's Law of Dominance
Explains that one of the factors for a pair of inherited traits will be dominant and the other recessive, unless both factors are.
by Owen Borville
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) was a geneticist and Augustinian friar who was born to German-speaking parents in the Austrian Empire (today’s Czech Republic). Mendel is recognized as the founder of modern genetics through his pea plant experiments conducted between 1856 and 1863, which established many of the laws of heredity. The large gardens attached next to his monastery gave Medel a location to perform his work. Between 1856 and 1863 Mendel cultivated and tested some 28,000 pea plants and along with his research developed the terms “recessive” and “dominant” to describe certain traits of the peas when they were cross-bred, particularly yellow peas and green peas. In 1866, Mendel explained that certain invisible factors determined the traits of an offspring organism. Today, these invisible factors are known as genes. Mendel’s research focused on seven traits: seed shape, flower color, seed coat tint, pod shape, unripe pod color, flower location, and plant height. When cross-breeding different varieties, Mendel found that one in four pea plants had purebred recessive traits, two out of four were hybrids, and one out of four were purebred dominant. Mendel’s studies also led to three laws of inheritance: the law of dominance, the law of segregation, and the law of independent assortment.
Mendel presented his paper, "Experiments on Plant Hybridization", at two meetings of the Natural History Society of Brünn in Moravia in 1865 and was published in 1866 in the Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Brunn. The significance of Mendel’s work was not recognized by the academic establishment until the 20th century, more than 30 years after his experimental work, when modern geneticists confirmed Mendel’s work. Mendel's work was in contrast to the theories of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin, who was living at the time but did not consider Mendel's work while proposing his theories. Mendel's work explained that the laws of inheritance did not allow limitless change, as Darwin's evolution claimed, but that change was only allowed within certain boundaries. Darwin also incorrectly believed that environmental factors could be inherited in new offspring. The science establishment was so enchanted with Darwin's work that Mendel's work was ignored for several decades, however by the 20th century modern science and genetics confirmed Mendel's work and mainstream scientists were forced to accept it in spite of Darwin's work. Mendel was known as a man of faith and a creationist and this could have caused the academic world to hesitate to approve his ideas.
Blending inheritance was the prevailing theory of genetic inheritance in the 19th century. Darwin and other scientists of his time believed in blended inheritance, where traits of two parents blended in the offspring and the child would receive and equal blend of each parent's traits. However, this was before the discovery of genes and chromosomes. Blending inheritance was proven incorrect in favor of particulate inheritance, which was introduced by Gregor Mendel, and proposed that traits are inherited in discrete units known today as genes. In particulate inheritance, instead of blending traits in the offspring, a type of gene called an allele is inherited from each parent but only one allele is shown in the offspring depending on several factors. For example, if one parent has brown hair and the other has red hair, only one of these colors will show in the offspring.
Mendel's Law of Segregation
Explains that allele pairs separate or segregate during gamete formation and randomly unite at fertilization.
Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment
Explains that when two or more characteristic traits are inherited, individual hereditary factors assort independently during gamete production, giving different traits an equal opportunity of occurring together.
Mendel's Law of Dominance
Explains that one of the factors for a pair of inherited traits will be dominant and the other recessive, unless both factors are.
