Thomas Hunt Morgan's Chromosom Theory

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Morgan’s Gene Mapping Work Led to The Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance
Thomas Hunt Morgan (September 25, 1866 – December 4, 1945) was an American evolutionary biologist; geneticist, embryologist, and science author who won the Nobel Prize in 1933 for discoveries that explained the role that the chromosome plays in heredity. Beginning in 1907, Thomas Hunt Morgan extended Sutton's insights by conducting laboratory studies of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. With his students Alfred Henry Sturtevant, Calvin Blackman Bridges, and Hermann Joseph Muller, Morgan began what is now referred to as classical genetics.
Morgan and his students discovered new phenomena that furthered Sutton's chromosome theory of heredity. In 1920, they discovered …show more content…

Additionally, Morgan presented the hypothesis that genes are located on chromosomes as a mechanistic consequence of reproduction. They were assisted in formulating this theory and hypothesis through their work on gene mapping.
Following the rediscovery of Mendelian inheritance in 1900, Morgan's research moved on to the study of mutations in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In his renowned Fly Room, at Columbia University, he was able to demonstrate that Mendelian inheritance has its physical basis in the behavior of chromosomes. Specifically, his work with eye color genes, in Drosophila, led to these discoveries which form the basis of the modern science of genetics. As a result of his work, Drosophila became a major model organism in contemporary …show more content…

While, not the first to use the fruit fly as a subject, Morgan’s innovations (simple designs that were easy to conduct) and success popularized its use. Morgan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine, in 1933, for discovering the role played by chromosomes in heredity.
Morgan’s conclusions in the study of gene mapping allow modern biologist to understand the likelihood of certain genes appearing together. Gene mapping can help doctors predict diseases or ailments, breeders to have more success in breeding desired traits, and researchers to better understand specimens. This new understanding of inheritance brings scientists closer to understanding how life works.
As shown Morgan and his students (Alfred Henry Sturtevant, Calvin Blackman Bridges, and Hermann Joseph Muller) work on gene mapping led to solidifying The Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance and developed the basis for modern

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