Vignettes of the history of genetics.

Abstract

Abstract This chapter enumerates historical developments in genetics up to the 21st century, starting from Mendelism, the rise of Drosophila and cytogenetics to mutation, non-nuclear inheritance, pleiotropy and transformation. The future of genetics is mentioned, indicating that the role of quantitative genetics and genomics in basic biology and applied sciences, including crop improvement, will increase greatly in the 21st century.