Gregor Mendel conducted experiments with pea plants to study heredity. He found that each trait is controlled by a pair of genes or alleles, one dominant and one recessive. In the F1 generation from a cross between plants with different traits, only the dominant trait appeared. However, in the F2 generation, the recessive trait reappeared in around 25% of plants, indicating that the alleles had segregated and were passed to gametes independently during reproduction. Mendel's findings formed the basis of modern genetics.