Gregor Mendel

Gregor Mendel, in full Gregor Johann Mendel, original name (until 1843) Johann Mendel, (born July 22, 1822, Heinzendorf, Silesia, Austrian Empire [now Hynčice, Czech Republic]—died January 6, 1884, Brunn, Austria-Hungur[now Brno, Czech Republic]), botanist, teacher, and Augustinian prelate, the first person to lay the mathematical foundation of the science of genetics, in what came to be called Mendelism.

Gregor Mendel was an Austrian scientist, teacher, and Augustinian prelate who lived in the 1800s. He experimented on garden pea hybrids while living at a monastery and is known as the father of modern genetics.

Through his careful breeding of garden peas, Gregor Mendel discovered the basic principles of hereditary and laid the mathematical foundation of the science of genetics. He formulated several basic genetic laws, including the law of segregation, the law of dominance, and the law of independent assortment, in what became known as Mendelian inheritance. 

Theoretical Interpretation

Mendel went on to relate his results to the cell  theory of fertilization, according to which a new organism is generated from the fusion of two cells. In order for pure breeding forms of both the dominant and the recessive type to be brought into the hybrid, there had to be some temporary accommodation of the two differing characters in the hybrid as well as a separation process in the formation of the pollen cells and the egg cells. In other words, the hybrid must form germ cells bearing the potential to yield either the one characteristic or the other. This has since been described as the law of segregation, or the doctrine of the purity of the germ cells. Since one pollen cell fuses with one egg cell, all possible combinations of the differing pollen and egg cells would yield just the results suggested by Mendel’s combinatorial theory.

Mendel first presented his results in two separate lectures in 1865 to the Natural Science Society in Brunn. His paper “Experiments on plant Hybrids” was published in the society’s journal, Verhandlungen des naturforschenden Vereines in Brünn, the following year. It attracted little attention, although many libraries received it and reprints were sent out. The tendency of those who read it was to conclude that Mendel had simply demonstrated more accurately what was already widely assumed—namely, that hybrid progeny revert to their originating forms. They overlooked the potential for variability and the evolutionary implications that his demonstration of the recombination of traits made possible. Most notably, Swiss botanist karl wilhim von Nagali actually corresponded with Mendel, despite remaining skeptical as to the significance of his results and doubting that the germ cells in hybrids could be pure.