Question

Define factor?

Answer 1

Hint:-Each trait in human beings is controlled by certain factors. Each character or trait is generally a result of expression of certain factors. These are usually inherited by the offspring from the parents. Each parent contributes an equal amount of chromosomes comprising those factors.

Complete Answer:-Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk while performing a series of experiments on pea plants to study heredity, identified that some particles were inherited from the parent plants to offspring. He named them as ‘factors’. These factors were responsible for the different traits expressed in the plants. Each unit factor exists for a single trait. Mendel even hypothesized that each diploid organism has 2 factors for each character or physical trait. Each parent contributes an equal amount of genetic material (initially referred to as factor) to the offspring. Mendelian factors are nothing but genes that commonly exist in pairs (of alleles). If both the alleles are similar, the organism is said to be homozygous (homozygous dominant or homozygous recessive) for that trait. On the other hand, if both allelic pairs are different then the organism is said to be heterozygous for that trait.
Additional information: Gregor Mendel is known as the ‘Father of Genetics’. He selected a simple biological system (garden pea) and conducted a systematic quantitative analysis of the samples for 8 long years producing more than 30,000 pea plant offsprings during his experiment. It was because of him that the secret of heredity was revealed.

Note:- The works of Mendel went virtually unnoticed by the scientific community, but ultimately proved to the basis of classical genetics. It was considered to be the starting point of studies on hereditary and inheritance of traits in organisms.