Who proposed the chromosome theory of inheritance?
2023
Who proposed the chromosome theory of inheritance?
Answer: B. Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri — ConceptThe chromosome theory of inheritance states that genes, or Mendelian factors, are carried on chromosomes. The parallel between chromosome segregation…
- A.
Watson and Crick
- B.
Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri
- C.
T. H. Morgan
- D.
More than one of the above
- E.
None of the above
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Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
The chromosome theory of inheritance states that genes, or Mendelian factors, are carried on chromosomes.
The parallel between chromosome segregation during meiosis and Mendelian segregation explains how hereditary factors pass from parents to offspring.
Application
The theory was independently developed in the early twentieth century by Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri. Sutton related chromosome pairing and separation to Mendel's laws, while Boveri's work showed that individual chromosomes have distinct roles in development.
Contrast
Watson and Crick explained the double-helical structure of DNA rather than originating the chromosome theory of inheritance.
T. H. Morgan's Drosophila experiments later supplied strong experimental evidence for chromosomal inheritance, linkage, and recombination.
The set-based choices do not fit because the historical proposal is attributed to the Sutton–Boveri pair.
Therefore, the accepted answer is Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri.