Final answer:
Mendelian Genetics contributed significantly to evolutionary theory by explaining how traits are inherited as discrete units, rejecting the incorrect blending theory of inheritance, and forming the modern synthesis which connects genetic changes in populations with the process of natural selection, thus furthering our understanding of microevolution and macroevolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mendelian Genetics played a crucial role in enhancing our understanding of evolutionary theory, which was originally proposed by Charles Darwin. While Darwin's theory outlined the process of natural selection, he lacked an understanding of how traits were inherited generation to generation. This is where Gregor Mendel's work became pivotal. Mendel discovered that genes have alternate forms, called alleles, and that these alleles segregate independently during the formation of sex cell.Mendel's principles of heredity, along with the recognition of genes' particulate nature, helped explain how evolution could occur in a gradual manner through the change in allele frequencies in populations. The synthesis of Mendelian genetics with Darwinian evolution led to what is known as the modern synthesis. This comprehensive framework describes how evolutionary processes like natural selection affect a population's genetic makeup (microevolution) and how these changes can lead to the formation of new species (macroevolution).Before Mendel's work was rediscovered, the blending theory of inheritance was the prevailing thought, which incorrectly suggested an offspring was simply a mix of the parents' traits. Mendel's experiments with pea plants demonstrated that traits are inherited as discreet units and do not blend, refuting the old theory and laying the groundwork for the field of Genetics.