A GENETIKA (ÕS)TÖRTÉNETE A MUSLICAKUTATÁS TÜKRÉBEN.

The rapid development of genetics at the beginning of the 20^th century coincided with the introduction of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster into laboratory research. Thomas Hunt Morgan and his students used this humble organism to confirm Mendelian genetics, establish chromosome theory and craft the first ever genetic maps. During this process they created a standardized, ideal genetic model animal that is continued to be used in research to this day. By removing the background genetic variance of the natural populations, this standardization blindsided some researchers, like Hermann Joseph Muller to the importance of genetic diversity. In contrast, others, like Theodosius Dobzhansky, used the genetic variance of a related species, Drosophila pseudoobscura to demonstrate the importance of diversity in natural populations. Muller and Dob zhansky both generalized their observations to human populations and their debate about the merits and vices of positive eugenics and the possible dangers or advantages of genetic diversity still resonate today, in an era of genome editing, preimplantation diagnostics and embryo selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]