Happy birthday, Mister Mendel
In July 2022, several initiatives commemorated the Bicentennial of the birth of Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics. Different scientific journals published opinion articles and special issues dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Mendel’s birth: for instance, Nature Reviews Genetics released a collection of papers that highlighted the importance of the basic principles of inheritance not only for plant genetics but also for human diseases or animal breeding, whereas The Plant Cell produced a focus issue on Plant Genetics that includes three perspectives (such as Which field of research would Gregor Mendel choose in the 21st century?) and six reviews about the influence of Mendel’s work on modern plant biology.
Moreover, the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant biology (Vienna, Austria) powered a dedicated webpage where curious people can find plenty of information about Mendel’s legacy and a fascinating video (below) about his failed teacher’s examination and later life in the monastery garden, discovering the secrets of heredity in pea plants.
