Question

List any two pairs of visible contrasting characters of garden pea plants used by Mendel for his experiments stating the dominant and recessive characters in each pair.

Answer 1

Phase 1: Flower Colour Inheritance
- Mendel investigated garden pea plants, focusing on the contrasting trait of flower colour.
- The dominant allele for flower colour is Purple (represented by P).
- The recessive allele for flower colour is White (represented by p).

Phase 2: Seed Shape Inheritance
- A further contrasting characteristic examined by Mendel was seed shape in garden pea plants.
- The dominant allele for seed shape is Round (represented by R).
- The recessive allele for seed shape is Wrinkled (represented by r).

Phase 3: Summary of Findings
Mendel's experiments involved studying the inheritance patterns of distinct, opposing characteristics in garden pea plants, including flower colour and seed shape. The identified dominant and recessive traits for these characteristics were:
1. Flower colour: Purple (dominant) contrasted with White (recessive).
2. Seed shape: Round (dominant) contrasted with Wrinkled (recessive).