Answers to a 160-year-old riddle about the genetics of Mendel’s pea traits

The genetic bases of the seven pairs of contrasting traits in the garden pea that were described by the ‘father of genetics’, Gregor Mendel, have long puzzled scientists. The discovery of the genetic variants underlying these traits sheds light on the ‘inherited factors’ that Mendel proposed and how they shape biological differences. The genetic architecture underlying differences in pod colour, pod shape and flower position in peas has finally been resolved.