Why in the News?

Researchers have solved the genetic mysteries behind Mendel’s Experiments on Inheritance, using advanced DNA sequencing and genome analysis.

About Mendel’s Experiments on Inheritance:

Who Was Mendel: Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk who studied pea plants starting in 1856 to find out how traits like height or color are passed from parents to children.
Years of Study: He worked for 8 years and tested over 10,000 plants. His results were shared in 1865 but ignored at the time.
Rediscovered Later: In 1900, other scientists realised how important Mendel’s work was.
What He Studied: He looked at 7 traits in peas – Seed shape, seed colour, flower colour, pod shape, pod colour, flower position, and plant height.
What He Found: Some traits (like round seeds) are stronger than others (like wrinkled seeds). These stronger traits usually show up in the next generation.
Why It Matters: Mendel showed that traits are passed through tiny units called genes, and each gene can have different versions called alleles. This became the foundation of genetics.

Scientists verify Mendel’s Experiments on Inheritance

What Scientists Did: In April 2024, scientists studied the DNA of 697 types of pea plants to understand the exact genes behind all 7 traits that Mendel studied.
Big Data: They used powerful machines to look at a huge amount of data — as much as 14 billion pages of information!
Surprising Results: They found that the pea plant family is more mixed than expected, with 8 different genetic groups due to crossbreeding.
New Genetic Details:
- Pod color changes due to a missing piece of DNA.
- Pod shape is controlled by 2 specific genes.
- Flower position changes with a small DNA change.
More Than Mendel: They also found 72 other traits related to seeds, pods, leaves, and roots.
Why It’s Useful: These findings can help farmers grow better crops, protect plants from diseases, and prepare for climate change.

[UPSC 2013] Mycorrhizal biotechnology has been used in rehabilitating degraded sites because mycorrhiza enables the plants to

(1). resist drought and increase absorptive area (2). tolerate extremes of pH (3). resist disease infestation

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

Options: (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 *