Theodor Boveri

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Theodor Boveri
Born12 October 1862
Died15 October 1915
NationalityGerman
Known forEmbryonic development
Boveri-Sutton chromosome theory
Centrosome
Scientific career
FieldsGenetics, Cell biology

Theodor Heinrich Boveri (12 October 1862 – 15 October 1915) was a German biologist who made discoveries in cytology, embryology and genetics. His career was devoted to the processes whereby a new individual arises from parental reproductive materials.[1]

His work with sea urchins showed that it was necessary to have all chromosomes present in order for proper development of the embryo to take place.[2] This discovery was an important part of the Boveri-Sutton chromosome theory. His other significant discovery was the centrosome (1888), which he described as the especial organ of cell division. Boveri also discovered the phenomenon of chromatin diminution during embryonic development of the nematode Parascaris.[3] [4]

Boveri–Sutton hypothesis[change | change source]

1902–1904: Boveri, in a series of papers, drew attention to the correspondence between the behaviour of chromosomes and the results obtained by Mendel.[5] He said that chromosomes were "independent entities which retain their independence even in the resting nucleus... What comes out of the nucleus is what goes into it".

In 1903 Walter Sutton suggested that chromosomes, which segregate in a Mendelian fashion, are hereditary units.[6] E.B. Wilson, who was Sutton's teacher, called this the Sutton–Boveri hypothesis.

Cancer[change | change source]

Boveri reasoned that a cancerous tumor begins with a single cell in which the make up of its chromosomes becomes scrambled, causing the cells to divide uncontrollably.[7]

It was only later that researchers such as Thomas Hunt Morgan showed that Boveri was correct.[8]

Other websites[change | change source]

  • Wolbert, Peter, Theodor Boveri (1862-1915), Biocenter of the University of Wuerzburg, retrieved 2007-07-22[permanent dead link]
  • Fritz Baltzer. (1967). excerpt from Theodor Boveri: The life of a great biologist, 1862-1915 Archived 2005-02-04 at the Wayback Machine. University of California Press, Berkeley; pp. 85–97.

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ Baltzer, Fritz 1967. Theodor Boveri: The life of a great biologist 1862–1915. University of California Press, Berkeley. http://www.devbio.com/article.php?ch=7&id=75 Archived 2005-02-28 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Laubichler, Manfred D.; Davidson, Eric H. (2008). "Boveri's long experiment: sea urchin merogones and the establishment of the role of nuclear chromosomes in development". Developmental Biology. 314 (1): 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2007.11.024. PMC 2247478. PMID 18163986.
  3. ↑ Moritz, K. B.; Sauer, H. W. (1996). "Boveri's contributions to developmental biology--a challenge for today". Int. J. Dev. Biol. 40 (1): 27–47. PMID 8735909.
  4. ↑ Baltzer F. (1964). "Theodor Boveri". Science. 144 (3620): 809–15. Bibcode:1964Sci...144..809B. doi:10.1126/science.144.3620.809. PMID 14149391.
  5. ↑ Boveri T. 1904. Ergebnisse uber die Konstitution der chromatischen Substanz des Zellkerns. Fischer, Jena.
  6. ↑ Ernest W. Crow and James F. Crow (2002). "100 Years Ago: Walter Sutton and the chromosome theory of heredity". Genetics. 160 (1): 1–4. doi:10.1093/genetics/160.1.1. PMC 1461948. PMID 11805039.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. ↑ Boveri, Theodor (2008), "Concerning the origin of malignant tumours", Journal of Cell Science, 121 (Supplement 1): 1–84, doi:10.1242/jcs.025742, PMID 18089652, S2CID 9033401, archived from the original on 2010-02-17, retrieved 2009-11-18
  8. ↑ STERN, C (1950). "Boveri and the early days of genetics". Nature. 166 (4219): 446. Bibcode:1950Natur.166..446S. doi:10.1038/166446a0. PMID 14775717. S2CID 4189392.
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