Question

Give any two contrasting traits studied by Mendel.

Answer 1

Hint:Mendel examined characters manifesting as opposing characteristics, such as tall or dwarf, yellow or green seeds, etc. It helped him to create a fundamental structure of inheritance rules.

Complete answer:
Gregor Mendel carried out hybridization studies with pea plants. Peas were the perfect option for Mendel to use because they had readily detectable characteristics that could be exploited. He started his studies on peas under two conditions. The conditions were that the plant bears constant differentiating characteristics and that hybrids of those species are shielded from all foreign pollen during the flowering period. The second criterion was used to defend against accidental impregnation, which would result in false results. Mendel decided to randomly cross the peas with each other to study the characteristics passed on and the outcomes of each cross. He collected about 34 kinds of peas and selected 22 different types to carry out his studies, which ranged in colour and size. Continuous family line breeding was undertaken over many years to refine the initial constant characteristics.

Two contrasting traits studied by Mendel are pod colour (green/yellow) and stem length (tall/dwarf). When a green pod plant and a yellow pod plant were crossed, the first generation (F1) would yield only green plants (the dominant trait being green colour). But then the second generation (F2) developed a quarter of a yellow pea pod. These experiments helped Mendel to infer two laws of inheritance: the Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment.

Note:Based on his experiments, Mendel proposed the inheritance of traits through successive generations. These traits are expressed through genes. Genes are therefore the units of inheritance. They provide the information needed to express a specific trait in an organism.