BI226 Chapter 2: Mendels Principles Heredity
Document Summary
Gregor mendel discovered the basic principles of genetics. Mendel was the first scientist to combine data collection, analysis, and theory to understand heredity. He inferred genetic laws about the appearance and disappearance of traits in different generations. He had no knowledge of meiosis, mitosis, or that chromosomes even existed. He published his conclusions in 1865, although their significance were not realized until the late 1800"s and early 1900"s. Genetics explains the mechanisms that determine the inheritance of traits. A gene is a region of dna that encodes a protein or rna. Heredity is the way genes transmit traits from parents to offspring. Genetics underlie the formation of every heritable trait (cleft chin, hair loss, eye colour) Some traits caused by single change in a single gene (sickle cell anemia) Some traits are caused by complex interactions between many genes (facial features) These laws explain why two black labs could have a litter of black, brown, and golden puppies.
