Who is known as the father of genetics due to his experiments with pea plants?

The title of "father of genetics" is attributed to Gregor Mendel because of his pioneering work on inheritance patterns through his experiments with pea plants in the mid-19th century. Mendel meticulously studied the traits of pea plants, such as flower color and seed shape, and developed fundamental laws of inheritance. His systematic approach allowed him to establish the concepts of dominant and recessive traits, and he formulated what are now known as Mendel's laws of segregation and independent assortment.

These discoveries laid the foundation for the scientific study of genetics, illustrating how traits are passed from one generation to the next. Despite Mendel's groundbreaking work not being widely recognized during his lifetime, it eventually gained importance and formed the basis for modern genetics. His meticulous data collection and analysis exemplified a scientific method that would inform future biological research.

In contrast, the other figures mentioned, such as Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, and James Watson, made significant contributions to biology in areas like evolution, microbiology, and molecular biology, respectively, but none are directly associated with the principles of heredity as Mendel is.