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How Mendel Cross-Pollinated Pea Plants
How Mendel Cross-Pollinated Pea Plants. Unknown though he was in his own day, Austrian monk Gregor Mendel is now one of the most famous scientists of the 19th century. Through his work with the breeding of pea plants, he discovered some of the basic principles of modern genetics.
Unknown though he was in his own day, Austrian monk Gregor Mendel is now one of the most famous scientists of the 19th century. Through his work with the breeding of pea plants, he discovered some of the basic principles of modern genetics.
History
Mendel lived in a town called Brno, which is today part of the Czech Republic. Starting in 1856, he bred pea plants in the monastery garden to try to figure out how their traits were inherited. The work called for considerable patience; Mendel spent eight years in all on his experiments.
How He Did It
Peas are flowering plants, or angiosperms. Their flowers, like those of most angiosperms, contain both male and female sex organs, so a pea plant can self-pollinate or cross-pollinate. Mendel pollinated his pea plants using a paintbrush. He first dusted the paintbrush with pollen from one flower, then transferred it to another.
Effects
Mendel first bred "true-breeding," or purebred plants that exhibited particular characteristics like flower color over multiple generations. Next, he crossbred plants with different traits and counted the numbers of progeny that exhibited the same characteristics as one of the parents. Finally, he crossbred the progeny and counted the ratio of one characteristic to another in this third generation.
