Identification of the final set of Mendel’s pea genes

We can be assured that every biology student is exposed to plants at least once, when they learn about the genetic laws that Mendel formulated from his studies on peas. His classic work focused on seven traits that exhibited simple dominant-recessive characteristics, such as seed color and shape and flower color. Of these seven traits, the genes controlling four were previously identified. This exciting new work by Feng et al. reveals the identity of the final three genes, controlling pod color, pod form, and fasciation (fasciation describes a growth condition where the stem or inflorescence forms as a flattened band). The authors explored a diversity panel of 697 isolates from four species of Pisum, creating a genomic variation map, and they scored each for the seven traits that Mendel worked with, thus confirming the identity of the four previously known genes, and identifying candidates for the three remaining unknown genes. It’s a fascinating article and one that would be exciting to share with students in an advanced genetics class. Or, with less advanced students, skip right to the Research Briefing for the author’s more accessible summary. (Summary by Mary Williams @PlantTeaching.bsky.social) Nature 10.1038/s41586-025-08891-6, Research Briefing https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01164-2