Who is known as the father of genetics?

• A. Gregor Mendel
• B. Charles Darwin
• C. James Watson
• D. Louis Pasteur

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is who first established the predictable patterns of heredity. Gregor Mendel did this through careful, controlled experiments with pea plants, using true-breeding lines and deliberate crosses to watch how traits passed from parents to offspring. He showed that traits come in discrete forms, not a blend, and that the inherited factors (what we now call genes) segregate during the formation of gametes and then recombine in offspring. This explained why a dominant trait appears in the next generation while a recessive trait can reappear after skipping a generation, and it led to the ideas of allele segregation and independent assortment. His quantitative approach and these conclusions created the foundation for genetics, which is why he is regarded as its father. While Darwin, Watson, and Pasteur made pivotal contributions in other areas of biology, Mendel’s work specifically established the science of heredity.