Overview

Cytologists had established links between cell theory and theories of evolution and heredity by the beginning of the twentieth century. The work of Walter S. Sutton (1877-1916) and Theodor Boveri (1862-1915) provided sound cytological evidence for the individuality of the chromosomes and suggested that they might play a role as the carriers of hereditary factors. Studies of sex determination in insects by Nettie M. Stevens (1861-1912) and Edmund B. Wilson (1856-1939) also supported the idea that chromosomes served as the material basis of biological inheritance.

Background

By the beginning of the twentieth century, cytologists had established links between cell theory and theories of evolution and heredity. Painstaking investigations of the fine structure of the cell convinced scientists that the cell nucleus was very different in form and function from the cytoplasm. Indeed, in terms of...