https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01269-8

http://www.china.org.cn/china/Off_the_Wire/2025-04/24/content_117842191.shtml

Cheng Shifeng and colleagues at the CAS Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen (AGIS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences have identified the specific genes and mutation mechanisms behind variations in pea pod color, pod shape and flower position — traits observed in Gregor Mendel’s original experiments.

In 1865, Mendel laid the foundations of modern genetics through his work on seven pea plant traits: seed shape, cotyledon color, flower color, flower position, pod shape, pod color and plant height. While later research uncovered the genetic bases for four of these traits, the molecular identities of the genes responsible for pod color, pod shape and flower position remained elusive.

Using an integrated approach combining genomics, molecular biology, bioinformatics and classical genetics, the team analyzed nearly 700 pea population samples. They discovered that a yellow-green variation in pea pods results from disrupted regulation in the final step of chlorophyll biosynthesis. Pod shape is controlled by two independent yet functionally interconnected developmental genes. The complex flower position (fasciation) trait is governed by a gene encoding a co-receptor-like kinase.

In addition to solving Mendel’s remaining trait puzzles, the researchers constructed the most comprehensive high-resolution haplotype and phenotypic variation maps for pea populations to date, covering the genetic bases of 72 agronomic traits.