Download Gregor Mendel `Fakebook` Page

Gregor Mendel ‘Fakebook’ Page
Profile:
Name: Gregor Mendel
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Date of Birth: July 22 , 1822
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Date of Death: January 6 , 1884
Profession(s): Scientist, Augustinian Friar
Interesting Facts:
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Gregor Mendel was a monk in a monastery
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Studied pea plants and their genetics
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Had a love for plants since he was little
Friends:
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Charles Darwin
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Louis Pasteur
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August Weismann
WHY PEAS?
Gregor Mendel chose peas to study simply because he thought they were interesting.
Another reason he chose to study peas was because they were easier to distinguish as
they had more traits. Gregor Mendel’s studied peas for 8 years, using mathematical
equations and scientific theories in heredity. He chose to study purebred peas, because he
wanted to see how the traits and ‘factors’ or what is now referred to as genes, are
passed on from generation to generation. He thought of them as very interesting plants
and studied them as his job.
TRAITS HE STUDIED
Gregor studied numerous traits in peas. For example, he studied if the peas were smooth or
wrinkled, if they were green or yellow, if the pods were green or yellow, if the flowers were
purple or white, and if the flowers were axial or terminal flowers. Axial meaning the flower
growing from the side or an angle, and terminal is referring to the flower growing from the
top of the stem. Gregor Mendel studied the way these traits were passed on, from one
generation to another and how some traits disappeared in certain generations.
PEA PLANT FERTILIZATION
Gregor Mendel’s experiments with pea plants included something called fertilization.
Fertilization is when the female eggs of the flower are combined with the male sperm of the
flower to form a new organism. For a flower, the pistil is represented as the female eggs
and the stamen is represented as the male sperm. The petals of the flower guard both sex
cells. Before fertilization can occur, pollen has to reach the pistil of the flowers. This
process is called pollination. Usually, most pea plants self-pollinate. This happens because
the pollen usually develops in the pistil of the flower. This is a process called self-pollination.
Mendel decided to experiment something called cross-pollination. Cross-pollination is when
you fertilize pea plants with two different traits. This is what Gregor Mendel was studying,
how different traits reappear and disappear when fertilized.
PARENT GENERATION PEA PLANTS
Gregor Mendel had studied something called Parent Generation pea plants. He called these
peas Parent Generation because they were the first out of many attempts that was a
successful purebred pea plant. Purebred referring to how all the traits are the same. Parent
Generation pea plants usually pass of their genes and traits to their offspring, or their next
generation. He fertilized and cross-pollinated the parent generations with two different
traits. For example, one parent generation plant had purple flowers, and another parent
generation plant had white flowers. He cross-pollinated them and got the result of the 𝐹!
generation of pea plants.
𝐅𝟏 GENERATION PEA PLANTS
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F! Generation pea plants are the 1 generation offspring of the parent generation. These
plants are the result of the cross-pollinated P Generation plants. In this generation, the
trait of one of the parent generation had completely disappeared and only one of the traits
appear. For example, if in the parent generation, one cross-pollinates purple and white
flowers, in the F! generation the white flower trait would completely disappear and only the
purple flower trait would show. This was a pattern Mendel had recognized.
𝑭𝟐 GENERATION PEA PLANTS
The 𝐹! generation of pea plants is the second generation of the 𝐹! generation. In this
generation the white flower reappears but only in the ratio of 3:1. For example there are 4
flowers in all and out of them, 3 of them would be purple and one of them would be white.
The white flower reappears because of something called dominant and recessive traits.
Dominant traits are traits that are in a way stronger and can dominate the other recessive
trait. Dominant traits appear when there are two dominant traits or one dominant and one
recessive trait in the genes. Recessive traits can only appear when there are two
recessive traits in the gene. Genes are made up of things called alleles. You get one allele
from your mom and one allele from your dad. These alleles can be recessive or dominant. In
the flower’s case, the white flower had a recessive gene and only appeared in the second
generation when there was another recessive gene. The purple flower was the dominant
gene.
SIGNIFICANCE OF MENDEL’S WORK
Mendel’s work was very significant but people and other scientists of his generation
thought his work and theories were ridiculous and it wasn’t possible for genetics to be
interpreted in such a way. Though his theories were true, they never accepted it. Before
Mendel, scientists thought that a baby that's forming had already been formed and the
baby was just a tiny baby growing in size. Mendel’s theory tried to prove that wrong. His
work wasn't accepted until the 1900’s, which was after he died. Scientists only recognized
it then. Mendel’s lasts words were “My time will come.” He was right his time did come.
MENDEL’S WORK REDISCOVERED IN 1900’S
The scientists from the 1900’s rediscovered Mendel’s work and thought that his
discoveries meant something and he was right about his theories. Scientists like DeVries,
Correns, and Tschermark rediscovered his work in the same year and helped spread
awareness about the Mendelian Laws of Inheritance. They didn’t realize that they were
working on 3 different hybrids at the same time. Hybrids are referring to different plants
with different alleles. By the middle of the 1900’s people started to fully understands cells
and chromosomes and the science behind it due to rediscovering Mendel’s theories and
work.
CHARLES DARWIN ON GREGOR MENDEL AND HIS WORK
Charles Darwin- I think that Mendel’s work is amazing as I was working on the same
concept of evolution. I think that his work made a lot of sense in terms of science and a lot
of it was right. It was a shame that his work wasn’t accepted and in fact, was ridiculed. As
ridiculous as it may have sounded, his theories were often very accurate and helped solve
mysteries of cells and chromosomes and heredity.
AUGUST WEISMANN ON GREGOR MENDEL AND HIS WORK
August Weismann- I thought of Gregor Mendel as very good companion and colleague to
help me on my theories of evolution. I studied quite the same thing about evolution and
heredity and his work helped me out a lot. A lot of the things I learned were from him. It
would have been so much better if his theories were accepted.
APA REFERENCES:
"August Weismann." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Weismann
"Charles Darwin." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Feb. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin
"Online Education Kit: 1900: Rediscovery of Mendel's Work." Online Education Kit: 1900: Rediscovery of Mendel's Work. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. http://www.genome.gov/25520238>.