A Century of Geneticists Mutation to Medicine http://taylorandfrancis.com A Century of Geneticists Mutation to Medicine Krishna Dronamraju CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2019 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed on acid-free paper International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4987-4866-7 (Paperback) International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-138-35313-8 (Hardback) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, trans- mitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright .com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com I dedicate this book to my loving companion Michele Wambaugh for her unending support, patience, and diligent editorial advice http://taylorandfrancis.com Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................xvii Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................xix SECTION I Beginnings Chapter 1 Hugo de Vries (1848–1935) ..................................................................5 Introduction ..........................................................................................5 Early Research......................................................................................5 The Mutation Theory ...........................................................................6 Theory of Pangenesis ...........................................................................7 Evolutionary Theory in the Late Nineteenth Century.....................8 Toward the Rediscovery .......................................................................9 Birth of Genetics ................................................................................ 11 Reception of the Mutation Theory .....................................................12 De Vries vs. Darwin ........................................................................... 14 Rediscovery of Mendel’s Work ..........................................................15 De Vries’s Position in the Genetics Community ................................ 16 References .......................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2 Eugenics and Francis Galton (1822–1911) .......................................... 19 Early Life ............................................................................................ 19 Fingerprints ........................................................................................20 Anthropometrics................................................................................. 21 Empirical Test of Pangenesis and Lamarckism .................................22 Hereditary Genius ..............................................................................22 Eugenics .............................................................................................22 Actuaries ............................................................................................24 Noteworthy Families ..........................................................................24 Heredity ..............................................................................................25 Race Improvement or Eugenics ..........................................................25 Galton: A Summary ...........................................................................27 Endnote ...............................................................................................27 References ..........................................................................................27 Chapter 3 William Bateson (1861–1926) ............................................................29 Early Work .........................................................................................29 Balanoglossus .....................................................................................30 Discontinuous Variation ..................................................................... 31 vii viii Contents Materials for the Study of Variation (1894) ........................................ 31 Symmetry and Meristic Repetition ....................................................32 Least Size of Particular Teeth ............................................................ 33 Problem of Intercrossing .................................................................... 33 Linkage ............................................................................................... 35 Meristic Variation ............................................................................... 35 Research on Indian Species ................................................................36 Subodh Kumar Roy ............................................................................36 Founding the Discipline of Genetics ..................................................37 Human Genetics .................................................................................38 Bateson’s Interests and Character ......................................................39 Endnote ...............................................................................................40 References ..........................................................................................40 Chapter 4 Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866–1945) ................................................... 43 E.B. Wilson ........................................................................................45 Fly Room ............................................................................................46 J.B.S. Haldane ....................................................................................48 Bateson’s Visit ....................................................................................48 Training Ground .................................................................................49 1925–1945 Period ...............................................................................50 Morgan’s Methods .............................................................................. 51 Nobel Prize ......................................................................................... 53 Nobel Lecture ..................................................................................... 53 The California Institute of Technology .............................................. 53 References ..........................................................................................54 SECTION II Population Genetics Chapter 5 J.B.S. Haldane (1892–1964) ...............................................................59 John Scott Haldane .............................................................................59 Father–Son Collaboration ..................................................................60 Haldane’s Rule .................................................................................... 61 Origins of Life ....................................................................................62 Physiology ..........................................................................................62 Population Genetics ............................................................................63 Natural Selection ................................................................................64 Demographic Structures .....................................................................66 Roles of Selection and Mutation in Evolution ....................................66 Gene Fixation .....................................................................................67 Metastable Populations .......................................................................67 Types of Selection ..............................................................................68 Measurement of Natural Selection