EARLY IDEAS GENETICS OF INHERITANCE

Hippocrates (460 – 377 B.P.) every part of the body was involved in the production of “seeds” The seeds would fuse together to make a new person

ARISTOTLE (384- 322 B.C.E) Theory of Pangenesis Egg and sperm consist of particles  pangenes from all parts of body upon fertilization the pangenes developed into the parts of the body from which they were formed.

WILLIAM HARVEY (1578 – 1657) New individual arose through the process of EPIGENESIS  embryo grew in stages and was affected by factors both inside and outside of the mother

ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK (1632 – 1723) Used a microscope to examine gametes found “animalcules” in semen and decided they were preformed embryo’s Female contribution was only the influence of the uterus during embryo development

BLENDING THEORY Characteristics of parents blended in the offspring Blending was irreversible, thus original characteristics would not appear in future generations

FRANCIS GALTON (1870’s) Disproved the theory of pangenesis (still influenced biology 100 years ago) Genes formed in every organ of both male and female body and moved to genitals

CHARLES DARWIN (1809 – 1882) Offspring have variations of their parents characteristics Couldn’t explain why – suggested current science had not yet discovered the puzzle pieces yet

Mendel’s law of heredity GREGOR MENDEL (1822 – 1884) Developed the fundamental principles of modern genetics Experimented on pea plants and proposed Mendel’s law of heredity