Mendel used contrasting visible characters such as round/wrinkled seeds, tall/short plants, and white/violet flowers in his experiments with garden peas. These characters were important as they allowed him to observe and analyze the inheritance patterns of specific traits, providing clear and distinct characteristics for his studies.
What were some of the contrasting visible characters of garden peas that Mendel used in his experiments, and why were they important for studying inheritance?
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Mendel used contrasting visible characters in garden peas, such as seed color (yellow or green), seed shape (round or wrinkled), flower color (purple or white), and pod color (yellow or green). These traits were important for studying inheritance because they exhibited clear-cut phenotypes controlled by single genes. The characters showed discrete variations (e.g., yellow or green) and followed Mendel’s laws of inheritance, allowing him to deduce the principles of segregation and independent assortment. The simplicity and distinctiveness of these traits facilitated the identification of patterns, laying the foundation for Mendel’s groundbreaking work on the inheritance of traits.