article published yes Diethard Tautz author Luisa F Pallares author Leif Andersson author Neda Barghi author Nicholas H Barton author 4880FE40-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0002-8548-5240 Rachael Bay author Yingguang Frank Chan author Angela Hancock author Tobias S Kaiser author Daniel Koenig author Zacharias Kontarakis author Miriam Liedvogel author Juliette de Meaux author Magnus Nordborg author Abraham A Palmer author Michael Purugganan author Christian Schlötterer author Karl Schmid author Didier Y R Stainier author Detlef Weigel author Jochen B W Wolf author Dieter Ebert author Greg Gibson author NiBa department The long-standing notion that genotypes map to phenotypes through simple one gene–one trait relationships continues to shape both research in the life sciences and public understanding, with implications for policy and funding priorities. Yet this paradigm is increasingly recognized as inadequate for explaining continuous phenotypic variation and the complex genetic architectures of the genotype–phenotype map. Modern genetics emerged from the early 20th-century synthesis of Mendelian and biometric schools of heredity, with R.A. Fisher demonstrating early on how multiple discrete loci could collectively produce continuous variation. Despite this fundamental insight, Mendelism—with its focus on single genes and standardized genetic backgrounds—became the dominant framework, shaping current genetics research and molecular biology as well as science education. The advent of large-scale genomic data has revealed yet again the limitations of this reductionist approach. Evidence from quantitative genetics now shows that most phenotypes arise from complex networks of many interdependent genes and their dynamic responses to environmental perturbations. Here we trace the historical roots of how Mendelian classical genetics departed from the biometric school to create the current predominant paradigm in genetics, despite fundamentally unresolved issues. Moving on from this one-sided paradigm will require systematic development of integrative, evolutionarily grounded experimental approaches that better capture the multigenic and context-dependent nature of inheritance. Achieving such an extended perspective will require methodological innovation, including advances in large-scale (e.g. automated) phenotyping. Dedicated research programs will be necessary to advance a new era of genetic research into the complex mechanisms underlying phenotypic variation. https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/download/21841/21890/2026_Genetics_Tautz.pdf application/pdfno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Oxford University Press2026 eng classic geneticsquantitative geneticsgenotype–phenotype map 1943-2631 4170135610.1093/genetics/iyag024 2324 D. Tautz <i>et al.</i>, “Beyond Mendel: A call to revisit the genotype–phenotype map through new experimental paradigms,” <i>Genetics</i>, vol. 232, no. 4. Oxford University Press, 2026. Tautz, D., Pallares, L. F., Andersson, L., Barghi, N., Barton, N. H., Bay, R., … Gibson, G. (2026). Beyond Mendel: A call to revisit the genotype–phenotype map through new experimental paradigms. <i>Genetics</i>. Oxford University Press. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyag024">https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyag024</a> D. Tautz, L.F. Pallares, L. Andersson, N. Barghi, N.H. Barton, R. Bay, Y.F. Chan, A. Hancock, T.S. Kaiser, D. Koenig, Z. Kontarakis, M. Liedvogel, J. de Meaux, M. Nordborg, A.A. Palmer, M. Purugganan, C. Schlötterer, K. Schmid, D.Y.R. Stainier, D. Weigel, J.B.W. Wolf, D. Ebert, G. Gibson, Genetics 232 (2026). Tautz, Diethard, et al. “Beyond Mendel: A Call to Revisit the Genotype–Phenotype Map through New Experimental Paradigms.” <i>Genetics</i>, vol. 232, no. 4, iyag024, Oxford University Press, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyag024">10.1093/genetics/iyag024</a>. Tautz D, Pallares LF, Andersson L, Barghi N, Barton NH, Bay R, Chan YF, Hancock A, Kaiser TS, Koenig D, Kontarakis Z, Liedvogel M, de Meaux J, Nordborg M, Palmer AA, Purugganan M, Schlötterer C, Schmid K, Stainier DYR, Weigel D, Wolf JBW, Ebert D, Gibson G. 2026. Beyond Mendel: A call to revisit the genotype–phenotype map through new experimental paradigms. Genetics. 232(4), iyag024. Tautz D, Pallares LF, Andersson L, et al. Beyond Mendel: A call to revisit the genotype–phenotype map through new experimental paradigms. <i>Genetics</i>. 2026;232(4). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyag024">10.1093/genetics/iyag024</a> Tautz, Diethard, Luisa F Pallares, Leif Andersson, Neda Barghi, Nicholas H Barton, Rachael Bay, Yingguang Frank Chan, et al. “Beyond Mendel: A Call to Revisit the Genotype–Phenotype Map through New Experimental Paradigms.” <i>Genetics</i>. Oxford University Press, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyag024">https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyag024</a>. 218412026-05-07T08:53:40Z2026-05-18T07:51:26Z