Animals World

Theodosius Dobzhansky


Born: January 24, 1900; Nemyriv, Russia
Died: December 18, 1975; San Jacinto, USA
Fields of study: Genetics, evolutionary science
A native of Ukraine, Dobzhansky came to the United States in 1927 to work with Thomas Hunt Morgan, an American geneticist who studied the genetics of fruit flies (Drosophila). In his research with fruit flies, Dobzhansky discovered that there is considerable genetic diversity among individual specimens. He demonstrated that most organisms possess one or more abnormal genes, so-called wild genes. These genes are of less immediate use than normal genes, but they are important because, as Dobzhansky’s research reveals, species with large genetic loads are more adaptable than those with low genetic loads. His Genetics and the Origin of Species (1937) presents in detail his conclusions about genetic overload.

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