History of genetics Genetics is the science of heredity and variability of living organisms and methods of their management. It was based on the patterns of heredity discovered by Gregor Mendel when crossing pea varieties. Mendel chose peas, which have many varieties that differ in alternative manifestations of traits, as the object of study. The choice of the object turned out to be successful because the inheritance of traits in peas is quite clear. Peas are usually self-pollinated, although cross-pollination is also possible. In a self-pollinated plant, all offspring are the offspring of a single organism, i.e., they are the so-called pure line, and the ability to cross-pollinate facilitates hybridization (crossing). This gave Mendel the opportunity to analyze the offspring of each individual and the offspring resulting from hybridization. Before starting the experiments, Mendel checked the purity of the variety (homozygosity) for several years, and once he was sure of it, he began the experiment.
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