What is the relationship between genetics and epigenetics?
The term ‘Genetics’ was coined by William Bateson in 1905. However, the term ‘gene’ is based on ideas of Charles Darwin and Hugo de Vries: In 1878 Hugo de Vries visited Darwin, who directly stimulated de Vries to shift from physiological to evolutionary and genetic studies. The source of de Vries inspiration was Darwins speculation on heredity, i.e. the provisional hypothesis of pangenesis. According to pangenesis, hereditary characters are part of tiny cellular particles called gemmules. All cells produce gemmules during develoment, growth and later life. Gemmules then migrate from somatic to germ cells, where they collect to pass inherited characters to the next generation. This, actually was Darwins famous lamarckist statement! Hugo de Vries suggested a fundamental (and correct) modification: he abandoned Darwins key notion of the migration of gemmules across cell boundaries, and rechristened gemmulae as ‘pangenes’. Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen in 1909 finally coined the term ‘gene’ (fo
