Plant research has often been done with plants. In genetics, the breeding of pea plants allowed Gregor Mendel to derive the basic laws governing inheritance, and examination of chromosomes in maize allowed Barbara McClintock to demonstrate their connection to inherited traits. The plant "Arabidopsis thaliana" is used in laboratories as a model organism to understand how genes control the growth and development of plant structures. NASA predicts that space stations or space colonies will one day rely on plants for life support. Ancient trees are revered and many are famous. Tree rings themselves are an important method of dating in archeology,
Genetics and the Origin of Species to identify that some populations of this species did not have identical sets of genes. Dobzhansky used experimental breeding in laboratories and gardens, and also surveys related to species in nature to help support aspects of organic evolution. The data in his book show the different genetic mutations and chromosomal changes that were observed. These experiments are vital to this book because they illustrate a transition from the laboratory to the greater field of genetics. "Drosophila" enabled researchers to gain a deeper understanding of how scientific knowledge about heredity has expanded and contributed to other areas of biology. By focusing