A relationship between Mendel\'s work on genetics and inheritance, and evolution
ID: 175198 • Letter: A
Question
A relationship between Mendel's work on genetics and inheritance, and evolutionary theory proposed by Darwin, is currently:
that Darwin could not validate and publish his theory until he read the works by Mendel.
in a modern evolutionary synthesis of genetic traits and species observations beyond Mendel's and Darwin's proposals.
that genetic variations due to mutations and other factors counter the proposed mechanisms of evolution proposed by Darwin.
founded in Mendel's genetics research proving that each generation evolves at a uniform rate, as Darwin predicted.
Explanation / Answer
Relationship between Mendel's work on genetics and inheritance, and evolutionary theory proposed by Darwin can be based on the research of, (Brian, 2009) according to whom; Darwin's theory of natural selection lacked an adequate account of inheritance, making it logically incomplete. Unlike Mendel, Darwin's lack of a model of the mechanism of inheritance left him unable to interpret his own data that showed Mendelian ratios, even though he shared with Mendel a more mathematical and probabilistic outlook than most biologists of his time. Darwin's own “pangenesis” model provided a mechanism for generating ample variability on which selection could act. It involved, however, the inheritance of characters acquired during an organism's life, which Darwin himself knew could not explain some evolutionary situations. Once the particulate basis of genetics was understood, it was seen to allow variation to be passed intact to new generations, and evolution could then be understood as a process of changes in the frequencies of stable variants. Darwinian principles play a greater role in biology as man's power of cumulative selection: nature gives successive variations; man adds them up in certain directions useful to himself, (Darwin, 1859)
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