Here are some of the reasons behind Mendel’s success:
- He chose the right organism to study. Pea plants are easy to grow and have a short generation time, which allowed Mendel to conduct many experiments in a relatively short period of time.
- He used a rigorous experimental method. Mendel carefully controlled his experiments and repeated them many times to ensure that his results were accurate.
- He was able to identify the key factors that influence inheritance. Mendel recognized that the traits he was studying were controlled by genes and that these genes were inherited in a particulate way.
- He was able to formulate two laws of inheritance that have stood the test of time. Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent assortment are the foundation of modern genetics.
