&CHAPTER 2

Mendelian Genetics and Plant

Reproduction

MATTHEW D. HALFHILL

Saint Ambrose University, Department of Biology, Davenport, Iowa

SUZANNE I. WARWICK

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Eastern Cereal and Oilseeds Research Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

3.0 Chapter Summary and Objectives Nicholas A. Tinker

2.0.1 Summary

Flowering plants (angiosperms) and conifers (gymnosperms) are diverse organisms that

have conquered the terrestrial world and made the planet green (Fig. 2.1). Angiosperms

are the most important crop and horticultural plants, while gymnosperms are important

in forestry. These plants have sundry methods of reproduction ranging from vegetative

propagation to sex by cross-fertilization, which sets them apart from the relatively

mundane world of animal reproduction. With the incredible diversity of reproduction

methods, plants maintain genetic variation in various ways. Gregor Mendel, the

nineteenth-century monk, was the first person to demonstrate the inheritance of genes

(even though he did not know what genes were in the molecular sense) using the garden

pea plant. His research is the basis of inheritance theory and practice.

2.0.2 Discussion Questions

1. What is a gene, and why are there multiple viable definitions?


2. How does the discrete nature of chromosomes impact sexual reproduction in plants?


3. What would be the consequence of sexual reproduction if mitosis were the only form
   of cell division?


4. How do the reproductive features of plants regulate the degree of inbreeding?

Plant Biotechnology and Genetics: Principles, Techniques, and Applications,Edited by C. Neal Stewart, Jr.

Copyright#2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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