Horses, camels, oxen and wolves were domesticated followed by selective breeding of these species

Cultivation of many plants (maize, wheat, rice and date palm)

Evidences of ancestors’ successful attempts in manipulating the genetic composition of species
Prehistory
8000-1000BC
5000BC HISTORY OF
GENETICS
The writings of Hippocratic School of Medicine treatise On the Seed argued that active “humors” bear
hereditary traits
500-400BC
Aristotle 384-322BC
Extended Hippocrates’ thinking and proposed the male semen contained a “vital heat” with the
capacity to produce offspring of the same “form” as the parent 2017 Khan, Shah, Klyachko, Baldridge, Eren, Place, Aviv, Puterman,
Llioyd-Jones, Heiman, Miyata, Gupta, Shapiro, Vaughan
Rare mutation of gene (Serpine 1) discovered to

16th Century
protect against biological ageing process The development
2012 Nobel
John Gurdon & Shinya Yamanaka
Prize for showing adult cells can be reprogrammed to direct of genetics from
embryonic development and to form stem cells
proposed the theory of epigenesis which states that an organism develops from the fertilized embryo 1600
William Harvey
2010Berger
Robert Edwards
Development of in vitro fertilization
the prehistoric
times to the
by a succession of developmental events that eventually transforms embryo to adult
2005 Enzyme & Emre
current era of
18th Century
Ubp10 demonstrated to protect the genome from potential destabilizing molecular events
genetics and its
2002 Ramin Shiekhattar
Link identified between genes responsible for neurofibromatosis and a protein thought to play role in many
1830
Matthias Schleiden & Theodore Schwann
Proposed the cell theory
Alzheimer’s disease
Elizabeth Rauscher applications in
1842
Karl von Nageli Identification of new enzyme for silencing certain genes, opening new avenues for cancer treatments research,
20th Century
First observation of chromosomes medicine, and
Wrote “On the Origin of Species” 1859
        Charles Darwin
society
Nucleus was shown to contain genetic substance 1864
Hertwig, von, Kolliker, Strasburger, Weismann
1999 Toyota,
Laws of inheritance established 1865
Ahuja, OheToyota, Herman, Baylin, Issa
Gregor Johann Mendel DNA methylation of CpG islands shown to be linked to colorectal cancer
Morgan, Sutherland, Martin, Whitelaw
Theory that cell’s nucleus contains genetic substance 1866
Haeckel First evidence from mammals that epigenetic changes can be passed down generations
1998 Double
Fire, Mello, Xu, Montgomery,Kostas, Driver
DNA isolated 1869
Frederick Miescher stranded RNA demonstrated to be potent mechanism for silencing genes

Mitosis Described 1879

Walter Flemming 1996 Ian Wilmut
Dolly the sheep was clones by nuclear transfer

Coined the term “Eugenics” to denote the science of improving stock by judicious mating 1883
Francis Galton 1995 First
Laird,Jackson-Grusby, Fazeli, Dickinson, Jung, Li, Weinberg,Jaenisch
evidence published to demonstrate published to demonstrate reduced DNA methylation contributes to formation of tumours
Renamed nuclein as nucleic acid 1889 1992 LiFirst
Richard Altmann Bestor and Jaenisch
transgenic mouse created for studying link between DNA methylation and disease
The nucleotide tuberculinic acid was found to bind to protein tuberculin – it is now regarded as 1830
Ruppel Zapisek, Cronin,LynCook, Poirier
precursor to discovery of DNA methylation First experimental evidence showing links between diet and DNA methylation and its relation with cancer
1990 The international Human Genome Project begins with the goal of sequencing the entire human genetic code;Gene

19th Century
therapy is used to treat a four-year old girl with the rare hereditary immune disorder deaminase deficiency
1989 DNA
Greger, Passarge, Hopping, Messmer, Horsthemke
methylation suggested to inactivate tumour suppressor genes.
1902
Walter Sutton & Theordore Boveri
Chromosomes Theory of Inheritance 1988 Bestor, Laudano,Mattaliano, Ingram
Cloning of first mammalian enzyme
1902-1908
Garrod
Orderly inheritance of Disease 1986 Kary Mullis
Developed the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
1905
William Bateson
Created the term “genetics” 1984-1985 Jeffreys
First genetic fingerprint revealed DNA fingerprinting principle laid out
1909
Wilhelm Johannsen
Coined the term “gene” 1983 The gene for an inherited disorder (huntington’s disease) is mapped to a chromosome for the first time.
Chromosomes carry hereditary traits 1910 1981 Compere
Thomas Hunt Morgan and Palmitter
First evidence showing that DNA methylation involved silencing X-chromosome
Provided first experimental proof that genes are positional chromosomes 1931
Barbara McClintock and Harriet Creighton 1975 Riggs, Sager, Kitchen
DNA methylation suggested as mechanism behind X-chromosome silencing in embryos

First cogenic line of inbred mouse strains helped determine the major histocompatibility complex 1940
Hoilliday and Pugh
Snell DNA methylation proposed as important mechanism for control of gene expression in higher organisms

Genes shown to regulate biochemical events within cells 1941

George Beadle and Edward Tatum 1973 Herb Boyer
He first started the concept of genetic engineering
Coined “Epigenetics” to describe how genes interact with environment to produce physical traits of organism 1942
Waddington 1969 Arber and Linn
Discovery of methylase

Discovery that DNA has a regular periodic structure 1943

William Astbury 1962 Concept
Arber and Dussoix
of restriction and modification enzymes
Discovered radiation resistance in bacteria 1944
Evelyn Witkin 1961 Hayflick
Normal cell population discovered to only be able to divide a limited number of times before it stops
Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, Maclyn McCarty Brenner, Crick, Jacob
Published experiments showing that DNA was the carrier of genetic information in bacteria Experiments revealed that mRNA transports genetic information from the nucleus to the protein-making machinery in a cell
Barbara McClintok
Developed theory of genetic transposition 1948 Lyon
Genes linked to X-chromosome inactivation in female mice e,bryos
Discovered first naturally modified DNA nucleotide, cytosine, in a chromatography of calf thymus DNA
Hotchkiss 1957 Astrachan, Volkin
First observation of messenger RNA
Esther Lederberg
Discovered lambda phage 1950 Conrad Waddington 
Develops model of epigenetic landscape to show the process of cellular decision-making during biological development
Hattie Alexander and Grace Leidy
Reported success using DNA to alter hereditary characteristics of Hemophilus influenzae 1955 Joe Hin Tjio
Discovery that there are 46 Human Chromosomes
Rosalind Franklin
Clear x-ray diffraction images of DNA were captured for the first time. 1951 1953 Discovery
Francis Crick and James Watson
of DNA double Helix
References:
Klug, W. S., Cummings, M. R., Spencer, C. A., & Palladino, M. A. (2017). Essentials of genetics. Boston: Pearson Education
Baure, Ciocon, Ferrer, Sunico, Te .Timeline: Genetics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9966-timeline-genetics
BIO205
4Biology6 continued... ...continuation /WhatisBiotechnology • The sciences, places and people that have created biotechnology. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/timeline/science/genetics/100
Image Source:
Epigenetics: Fundamentals, History, and Examples. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.whatisepigenetics.com/fundamentals/