What does it mean when pea plants are described as being true breeding?
http://biology.about.com/bldeftruebreed.htm
When pea plants are described as being true breeding, it means that they will always produce offspring with the same traits as the parent plants. In other words, true breeding plants are genetically stable and consistent in their traits from generation to generation.
The concept of true breeding was first discovered and studied by the famous monk and botanist Gregor Mendel in the mid-19th century. Mendel conducted numerous experiments with pea plants and found that certain traits, such as flower color or seed shape, remained unchanged in the offspring when true breeding plants were crossed with each other.
To identify true breeding plants, Mendel performed a series of controlled crosses. He would take two plants with the same trait, such as purple-flowered plants, and cross them. If the resulting offspring all had purple flowers, he concluded that the parent plants were true breeding for that trait. This means that when these offspring plants self-pollinated or were used for further crosses, they would consistently produce purple-flowered progeny.
Mendel's work laid the foundation for the understanding of inheritance and genetics. He found that traits are controlled by discrete units, which we now know as genes, and that they can be passed on from one generation to the next. The concept of true breeding is essential in genetic research, as it allows scientists to establish stable lines of organisms with specific traits for further experimentation or breeding programs.