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Chapter 3: Problem 6

What advantages were provided by Mendel's choice of the garden pea in his experiments?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The advantages of Mendel's choice of the garden pea included ease of cultivation, visible trait variations, option for controlled pollination, clear-cut trait dominance, and large sample size, which contributed to the success of his work and the establishment of the foundation for the modern field of genetics.

Step by step solution

01

Advantage 1: Easy to Cultivate

One advantage of the garden pea was its ease of cultivation. The pea plants grew quickly, were easy to care for, and produced a large number of offspring. This allowed Mendel to perform multiple generations of experiments in a relatively short amount of time.
02

Advantage 2: Visible Trait Variations

The garden pea provided Mendel with a variety of easily observable traits, such as seed color, seed shape, flower color, and stem length. These traits could be easily distinguished visually, enabling Mendel to quickly and accurately categorize and record the traits displayed by the plants in each generation.
03

Advantage 3: Both Self-Pollination and Cross-Pollination

Garden pea plants have the unique ability to self-pollinate or be cross-pollinated. This allowed Mendel to closely control which plants were mating with each other and ensure that he was studying the inheritance of specific traits. By focusing on purebred lines, he could accurately predict and document the results of his crosses.
04

Advantage 4: Clear-cut Trait Dominance

Mendel's experiments relied on understanding the dominant and recessive traits in the garden pea. Luckily, the traits he chose displayed clear-cut dominance and recessiveness, making it easier to confirm his predictions and develop his theories on inheritance.
05

Advantage 5: Large Sample Size

The garden pea plants produced a large number of offspring, allowing Mendel to work with a substantial sample size for each experiment. This helped him to demonstrate the consistency of his findings and the accuracy of his theories.
06

Conclusion

Overall, Mendel's choice of the garden pea as the subject of his experiments was highly advantageous due to its ease of cultivation, visible trait variations, option for controlled pollination, clear-cut trait dominance, and large sample size. These factors contributed to the success of Mendel's work and the establishment of the foundation for the modern field of genetics.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Albinism, lack of pigmentation in humans, results from an autosomal recessive gene (a). Two parents with normal pigmentation have an albino child. (a) What is the probability that their next child will be albino? (b) What is the probability that their next child will be an albino girl? (c) What is the probability that their next three children will be albino?

In a family of six children, where one grandparent on either side has red hair, what mathematical expression predicts the probability that two of the children have red hair?

In assessing data that fell into two phenotypic classes, a geneticist observed values of \(250: 150 .\) She decided to perform a \(\chi^{2}\) analysis by using the following two different null hypotheses: (a) the data fit a 3: 1 ratio, and (b) the data fit a 1: 1 ratio. Calculate the \(\chi^{2}\) values for each hypothesis. What can be concluded about each hypothesis?

Two true-breeding pea plants were crossed. One parent is round, terminal, violet, constricted, while the other expresses the respective contrasting phenotypes of wrinkled, axial, white, full. The four pairs of contrasting traits are controlled by four genes, each located on a separate chromosome. In the \(\mathrm{F}_{1}\) only round, axial, violet, and full were expressed. In the \(\mathrm{F}_{2},\) all possible combinations of these traits were expressed in ratios consistent with Mendelian inheritance. (a) What conclusion about the inheritance of the traits can be drawn based on the \(\mathrm{F}_{1}\) results? (b) In the \(\mathrm{F}_{2}\) results, which phenotype appeared most frequently? Write a mathematical expression that predicts the probability of occurrence of this phenotype. (c) Which \(\mathrm{F}_{2}\) phenotype is expected to occur least frequently? Write a mathematical expression that predicts this probability. (d) In the \(F_{2}\) generation, how often is either of the \(P_{1}\) phenotypes likely to occur? (e) If the \(F_{1}\) plants were testcrossed, how many different phenotypes would be produced? How does this number compare with the number of different phenotypes in the \(\mathrm{F}_{2}\) generation just discussed?

Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in death, often by the age of \(2 .\) You are a genetic counselor interviewing a phenotypically normal couple who tell you the male had a female first cousin (on his father's side) who died from TSD and the female had a maternal uncle with TSD. There are no other known cases in either of the families, and none of the matings have been between related individuals. Assume that this trait is very rare. (a) Draw a pedigree of the families of this couple, showing the relevant individuals. (b) Calculate the probability that both the male and female are carriers for TSD. (c) What is the probability that neither of them is a carrier? (d) What is the probability that one of them is a carrier and the other is not? [Hint: The \(p\) values in (b), (c), and (d) should equal \(1 .]\)
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