History Timeline of Genetics

1865 - 2012 18 events
genetics

Gregor Mendel formulates laws of inheritance

1865
Mendel conducts pea plant hybridization experiments identifying patterns of dominant and recessive trait segregation foundational to classical genetics
molecular genetics

Friedrich Miescher discovers nuclein

1869
Miescher isolates a phosphorus rich substance from pus cells later named DNA revealing the chemical basis for heredity
CE

Hugo de Vries

1900
1900
genetics

Walter Sutton proposes chromosome theory of inheritance

1902
Sutton observes meiotic behavior of chromosomes in grasshopper testes correlating chromosomal segregation with Mendelian inheritance establishing chromosomal basis...
genetics

William Bateson coins term genetics

1905
Bateson adopts Mendel’s principles to study heredity and introduces “genetics” as the branch of biology concerned with variation...
genetics

Thomas Hunt Morgan demonstrates sex linkage

1910
Morgan’s experiments with Drosophila melanogaster reveal that genes reside on chromosomes and that white eye mutation is X...
genetics

Thomas Hunt Morgan’s fly lab maps first genetic linkage

1913
Morgan and his students construct linkage maps of Drosophila establishing concept of recombination frequency as measure of gene...
molecular genetics

Oswald Avery identifies DNA as genetic material

1944
Avery MacLeod and McCarty show that purified DNA from Streptococcus pneumoniae can transform nonvirulent bacteria into virulent form...
molecular genetics

Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase confirm DNA heredity role

1952
Hershey and Chase use bacteriophage T2 experiments labeling protein and DNA demonstrating only DNA enters bacterial cells and...
molecular biology

James Watson and Francis Crick propose double helix structure of DNA

1953
Watson and Crick use X-ray diffraction data to model DNA as antiparallel strands with complementary base pairing explaining...
Multiple Events

2 Events in 1961

1961
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genomics

Frederick Sanger develops dideoxy DNA sequencing

1977
Sanger’s chain termination method enables rapid determination of DNA nucleotide sequences facilitating gene mapping genome projects and biotechnology
molecular technique

Kary Mullis invents polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

1983
Mullis develops PCR using thermostable Taq polymerase allowing exponential amplification of specific DNA segments revolutionizing molecular genetics diagnostics...
genomics

Launch of Human Genome Project

1990
International consortium begins large scale collaboration to sequence and map entire human genome aiming to identify approximately 20000–25000...
genomics

Completion of draft human genome sequence

2001
International Human Genome Project publishes draft sequence covering over 90 percent of human genome accelerating research into genetic...
genomics

Publication of finished human genome sequence

2003
Consortium releases near complete reference human genome sequence identifying protein coding genes and structural variants enabling extensive functional...
genetic engineering

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna develop CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing

2012
Charpentier and Doudna engineer RNA guided Cas9 nuclease for precise genome modifications in living cells transforming genetic engineering...
1865 1869 1900 1902 1905 1910 1913 1944 1952 1953 1961 1977 1983 1990 2001 2003 2012
  • Gregor Mendel formulates laws of inheritance,1865,CE,Mendel conducts pea plant hybridization experiments identifying patterns of dominant and recessive trait segregation foundational to classical genetics,genetics

  • Friedrich Miescher discovers nuclein,1869,CE,Miescher isolates a phosphorus rich substance from pus cells later named DNA revealing the chemical basis for heredity,molecular genetics

  • Hugo de Vries Carl Correns and Erich von Tschermak rediscover Mendel’s work,1900,CE,Independent rediscovery of Mendel’s papers by Dutch and German botanists brings heredity principles to scientific attention reviving genetics research,genetics

  • Walter Sutton proposes chromosome theory of inheritance,1902,CE,Sutton observes meiotic behavior of chromosomes in grasshopper testes correlating chromosomal segregation with Mendelian inheritance establishing chromosomal basis of genetics,genetics

  • William Bateson coins term genetics,1905,CE,Bateson adopts Mendel’s principles to study heredity and introduces genetics as the branch of biology concerned with variation inheritance and traits,genetics

  • Thomas Hunt Morgan demonstrates sex linkage,1910,CE,Morgan’s experiments with Drosophila melanogaster reveal that genes reside on chromosomes and that white eye mutation is X linked confirming chromosome theory,genetics

  • Thomas Hunt Morgan’s fly lab maps first genetic linkage,1913,CE,Morgan and his students construct linkage maps of Drosophila establishing concept of recombination frequency as measure of gene distance on chromosomes,genetics

  • Oswald Avery Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty demonstrate DNA is genetic material,1944,CE,Avery MacLeod and McCarty show that purified DNA from Streptococcus pneumoniae can transform nonvirulent bacteria into virulent form proving DNA carries hereditary information,molecular genetics

  • Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase confirm DNA heredity role,1952,CE,Hershey and Chase use bacteriophage T2 experiments labeling protein and DNA demonstrating only DNA enters bacterial cells and directs phage replication consolidating role of DNA,molecular genetics

  • James Watson and Francis Crick propose double helix structure of DNA,1953,CE,Watson and Crick use X ray diffraction data to model DNA as antiparallel strands with complementary base pairing explaining mechanism for replication and inheritance,molecular biology

  • Marshall Nirenberg and J Heinrich Matthaei decipher first codon,1961,CE,Nirenberg and Matthaei synthesize polyuracil RNA sequences in vitro showing that UUU codes for phenylalanine laying groundwork for cracking the genetic code,molecular biology

  • François Jacob and Jacques Monod propose operon model for gene regulation,1961,CE,Jacob and Monod describe lac operon regulatory mechanism in E coli identifying roles of promoter operator and repressor illustrating transcriptional control,gene regulation

  • Frederick Sanger develops dideoxy DNA sequencing,1977,CE,Sanger’s chain termination method enables rapid determination of DNA nucleotide sequences facilitating gene mapping genome projects and biotechnology,genomics

  • Kary Mullis invents polymerase chain reaction PCR,1983,CE,Mullis develops PCR using thermostable Taq polymerase allowing exponential amplification of specific DNA segments revolutionizing molecular genetics diagnostics and forensics,molecular technique

  • Launch of Human Genome Project,1990,CE,International consortium begins large scale collaboration to sequence and map entire human genome aiming to identify approximately 20000–25000 human genes and create reference sequence,genomics

  • Completion of draft human genome sequence,2001,CE,International Human Genome Project publishes draft sequence covering over 90 percent of human genome accelerating research into genetic bases of diseases and personalized medicine,genomics

  • Publication of finished human genome sequence,2003,CE,Consortium releases near complete reference human genome sequence identifying protein coding genes and structural variants enabling extensive functional genomics studies,genomics

  • Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna develop CRISPR Cas9 gene editing,2012,CE,Charpentier and Doudna engineer RNA guided Cas9 nuclease for precise genome modifications in living cells transforming genetic engineering and therapeutic research,genetic engineering

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