Chapter 1 :

Basic Concepts of Genetics

Historical Concepts of Genetics

 Learning outcomes

• At the end of this topic, students should be able to:

– Understand the historical concepts of Genetics
 The genetic timeline
1859

Theory of Evolution & Natural Selection

• Charles Darwin - wrote “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the
Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.”

• all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor

• development of life from non-life
• complex creatures evolve from more simplistic ancestors naturally over time
• random genetic mutations occur within an organism's genetic code, the beneficial mutations are
preserved because they aid survival -- a process known as "natural selection."
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1865
1859

Heredity Transmitted in Units

• Gregor Mendel’s experimented on peas, demonstrated that heredity is transmitted in
discrete units.

• Genes exist in pairs within an organism, with one of each pair inherited from each parent.
• The understanding that genes remain distinct entities even if the characteristics of parents appear to blend in
their children
• This explains how natural selection could work and provides support for Darwin’s proposal.
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1865
1859 1869

DNA Isolated
• Frederick Miescher isolated DNA from cells for the first time and called it “nuclein”.

• From Pus soaked rags Miescher was able to isolate the nuclei from white blood cells.
• In the nuclei he finds a chemical he calls “Nuclein”
• Function is unknown of this mystery chemical, but it contains a lot of phosphate..
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1865 1879
1859 1869

Mitosis Described
Walter Flemming described chromosome behavior during animal cell division. He stained
chromosomes to observe them clearly and described the whole process of mitosis in 1882.
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1865 1879 1900
1859 1869

Rediscovery of Mendel’s work

Botanists DeVries, Correns, and von Tschermak
independently rediscovered Mendel’s work while doing their
own work on the laws of inheritance. The increased
understanding of cells and chromosomes at this time
allowed the placement of Mendel’s abstract ideas into a
physical context.
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1865 1879 1900
1859 1869 1902

Chromosome Theory of Inheritance

Walter S. Sutton described how the
behaviour of chromosomes during meiosis
which explained Mendel’s laws and suggested
that genes are located on chromosomes.
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1865 1879 1900 1909
1859 1869 1902

The Word Gene was Coined

Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word GENE to
describe the Mendelian unit of heredity. He
also used the terms GENOTYPE and
PHENOTYPE to differentiate between the
genetic traits of an individual and its outward
appearance.
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1865 1879 1900 1909
1859 1869 1902 1911

Chromosomes Carry Genes

Thomas Hunt Morgan and his students study
fruit fly chromosomes. They show that
chromosomes carry genes, and also discover
genetic linkage.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941
1859 1869 1902 1911

One Gene, One Enzyme Hypothesis

George Beadle and Edward Tatum’s experiments on the red bread mold, Neurospora crassa,
show that genes act by regulating distinct chemical events. They propose that each gene directs
the formation of one enzyme
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944

DNA Transforms Cells

Oswald Avery and colleagues demonstrate that DNA is the genetic material. They show that DNA
(not proteins) can transform the properties of cells -- thus clarifying the chemical nature of genes.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944

Chargaff Rules
• 1947: Erwin Chargaff establishes the one-to-one ratio of purine and pyrimidine bases in DNA.
Briggs & Kings Cloned Tadpoles
• The world’s first cloned animal, tadpole was cloned by Robert Briggs and Thomas King.
• In fact Robert Briggs and Thomas King cloned many tadpoles, none of which survived to
adulthood.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953

DNA Double Helix

Francis H. Crick and James D. Watson
described the double helix structure
of DNA. They receive the Nobel Prize
for their work in 1962.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953

mRNA Ferries Information

Sydney Brenner, François Jacob and Matthew
Meselson discover that mRNA takes information
from DNA in the nucleus to the protein-making
machinery in the cytoplasm.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953

• 1973 : Herb Boyer, Stanley Cohen, first used a

plasmid to clone DNA.
• 1978 : Human insulin (aka Humulin) is
produced by genetically engineered bacteria
(E.coli).
• 1981 : Chinese scientist become the first to
clone a fish – a golden carp.
 The genetic timeline
1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953 1983

PCR Invented
• The polymerase chain reaction is invented by
Kary B Mullis.
• The first artificial chromosome is synthesized,
and the first genetic markers for specific
inherited diseases are found.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953 1983 1984

• Sir Alec Jeffreys develops DNA (or genetic)

fingerprinting to identify individuals.
• Chiron Corp. announces the first cloning and
sequencing of the entire human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) genome.
• The first genetically engineered vaccine is
developed.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981 1985-1988
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953 1983 1984

1985 - Genetics fingerprinting enters the courtroom,

involved a two year struggle by Christiana Sarbah and her
son, Andrew, to prove to the Home Office in England that
they were, indeed, mother and son.

1985 - Field trials of genetically modified tomatoes take

place in the USA.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981 1985-1988
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953 1983 1984 1990

Launch of the Human Genome Project

The Department of Energy and the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) announce a plan for a 15-year project to
sequence the human genome. This will eventually result
in sequencing all 3.2 billion letters of the human
genome.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981 1985-1988 1991
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953 1983 1984 1990

Mary-Claire King, of the University of California, Berkeley,

finds evidence that a gene on chromosome 17 causes the
inherited form of breast cancer and also increases the risk
of ovarian cancer.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981 1985-1988 1991
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953 1983 1984 1990 1997

First Mammal Cloned

Ian Wilmut and colleagues announce the birth of a lamb
(‘Dolly’)-the first mammal to be cloned from an adult
body cell
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981 1985-1988 1991 2000
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953 1983 1984 1990 1997

Human Genome Working Draft Completed

By the end of Spring 2000, HGP researchers sequence 90
percent of the human genome with 4-fold redundancy.
This working draft sequence is estimated to be 99.9%
accurate.
 The genetic timeline
1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981 1985-1988 1991 2000
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953 1983 1984 1990 1997 2003

Completion of Human Genome Sequencing

The finished human genome sequence will be at least
99.99% accurate.
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1865 1879 1900 1909 1941 1947 - 1952 1961 1966 1973-1981 1985-1988 1991 2000 2009
1859 1869 1902 1911 1944 1953 1983 1984 1990 1997 2003

Controversies continue over human and animal cloning,

research on stem cells, and genetic modification of crops.