NEETZoologyPrinciples of Inheritance and Variation
What was one of the main reasons Mendel's concept of genes was not accepted by his contemporaries?
Options
- AHis results were too complex
- BHis idea of discrete units controlling traits was new
- CHe did not conduct experiments
- DHis theories were published too late
Correct answer
B. His idea of discrete units controlling traits was new
Step-by-step solution
Mendel published his work on inheritance of characters in 1865 but for several reasons, it remained unrecognized till 1900. Firstly, communication was not easy (as it is now) in those days and his work could not be widely publicized. Secondly, his concept of genes (or factors, in Mendel’s words) as stable and discrete units that controlled the expression of traits and, of the pair of alleles which did not ‘blend’ with each other, was not accepted by his contemporaries as an explanation for the apparently continuous