Reasons for Mendel's Success - Genetics

Mendel’s Choice of Pea Plant

Reasons for Mendel’s Success is , the pea plant (Pisum sativum) was chosen by Mendel for the use of genetics, whose properties or characteristics are as follows –

• The plant of pea (Pisum sativum) is one year old. Its life span is only 3 – 4 months. So we can study many generations of it.
• Its flowers are bisexual.
• There are many conflicting traits in the pea plant, yet Mendel chose only 7 pairs of comparative traits (alleles or allelomorphs) for his experiment. For example, tall and dwarf stem, yellow and green seeds etc.

7 Pair Characteristics Used by Mendel

The following are the seven pairs of traits selected by Mendel –

1. Seed size — round (R) or wrinkled (r)
2. Pod color — green (G) or yellow (g)
3. Flower color or cotyledon color — gray or white
4. Seed paper color — yellow (Y) or green (y)
5. Pod size — inflated or compressed
6. Flower position — axial or apical
7. Stem length — tall (L) or dwarf (l)

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Reasons for Mendel’s Success

• Mendel selected seven pairs of comparative traits (alleles or allelomorphs). They were all effective and ineffective.
• Generally, self-pollination occurs in pea flowers, due to which the plants are homozygous and their traits remain pure from generation to generation.
• In this artificial cross pollination can be done easily.
• Hybrid plants obtained by artificial hybridization are also fertile.
• The structure of its flowers is such that the entry of pollen grains of any other flower is difficult in it. In this way there is very less chance of obstruction or harm by any other plant.
• Mendel selected only one trait at a time in his experiments and studied only one inheritance.
• Mendel did not limit his experiment to only one generation, but took it to the second (F2) and third generation (F3).
• Mendel kept a record of the results of different generations of sub-castes obtained in all his experiments.
• The data of experiments were collected in sufficient quantity so that statistical analysis can be done on the basis of the data.
• Due care was taken to prevent pollination by unwanted pollen grains.

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