Why Mendel can be considered lucky ?

Options

A. All seven Paris of contrasting characters selected by him , showed complete dominance and all the allelic pair combinations which he considered for dihybrid cross showed independent assortment .
B. All the allelic pair combinations which he considered for dihybrid cross showed linkage .
C. Pea varieties expressed intermediate characters as compared to parents.
D. He used heterozygous plants as parents in monohybrid cross.

Answer

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding Mendel's Contribution**:
- Gregor Mendel is known as the father of genetics for his pioneering work on inheritance patterns in pea plants (Pisum sativum).
- He conducted experiments to understand how traits are passed from parents to offspring, leading to the formulation of Mendel's Laws of Inheritance.

2. **Mendel's Experimental Setup**:
- Mendel chose to study seven contrasting traits in pea plants, which were easily observable and had clear dominant and recessive forms.
- The traits included characteristics such as flower color, seed shape, and pod color.

3. **Mendel's Laws of Inheritance**:
- **Law of Dominance**: In a pair of alleles, one can be dominant over the other, masking its effect.
- **Law of Segregation**: During gamete formation, the alleles for a trait segregate from each other so that each gamete carries only one allele for each trait.
- **Law of Independent Assortment**: The inheritance of one trait does not affect the inheritance of another trait, provided the genes are located on different chromosomes.

4. **Reasons for Mendel's Luck**:
- Mendel was fortunate because the traits he studied did not exhibit linkage, meaning they segregated independently.
- The traits showed complete dominance without any intermediate forms, allowing Mendel to observe clear ratios in his experiments.
- If Mendel had encountered traits with incomplete dominance, co-dominance, or linkage, his conclusions might have been different, and he may not have been able to formulate his laws.

5. **Conclusion**:
- Mendel's selection of the pea plant and the specific traits he studied allowed him to derive his laws of inheritance without encountering exceptions that could have complicated his findings.
- Therefore, he is considered lucky for choosing the right organism and traits for his groundbreaking research.