Boveri–Sutton chromosome theory

The theory that genes are carried on chromosomes and that chromosome behavior during meiosis explains Mendelian patterns of inheritance.

Meiosis: A cell division process that produces haploid cells by separating homologous chromosomes and then sister chromatids. Homolog separation provides the physical basis for Mendel’s segregation and independent assortment.
Walter Sutton: An American geneticist who connected chromosome behavior in meiosis with Mendelian inheritance. His 1902–1903 work articulated the chromosome basis of Mendel’s laws.
Boveri–Sutton hypothesis: The early proposal that chromosome behavior during cell division accounts for Mendelian inheritance. The theory took shape through independent arguments by Boveri and Sutton.
Gene: A unit of heredity consisting of a DNA sequence that contributes to a functional product or trait. The theory located hereditary factors on chromosomes, later identified as genes.
Homologous chromosomes: Chromosome pairs with corresponding genes, one inherited from each parent in diploid organisms. Their pairing and separation explain how paired hereditary factors segregate.
Theodor Boveri: A German biologist whose experiments and studies linked chromosomes to heredity and development. His independent evidence that chromosomes are distinct and functionally significant complemented Sutton’s argument.
Sea urchin experiments of Theodor Boveri: Experiments showing that normal sea urchin development depends on receiving the proper complement of chromosomes. They supported Boveri’s claim that individual chromosomes have distinct hereditary roles.
Chromosome mapping: The process of determining the relative positions of genes along chromosomes. Linkage data made chromosome location measurable rather than merely hypothetical.
Mendel's law of segregation: The principle that the two alleles of a gene separate during gamete formation. Chromosome separation gives a cellular explanation for this inheritance pattern.
Mendelian inheritance: Patterns of inheritance described by Gregor Mendel, including segregation and independent assortment of hereditary factors. These patterns were the phenomena the chromosome theory sought to explain.

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Christiane Nüsslein-VolhardNarrower topic: The screens relied on inherited mutations as clues to genes controlling development.