Erwin Baur
From Freepedia
Erwin Baur (1875 - 1933) was a German geneticist and botanist. Baur worked primarily on plant genetics, he was director of the Max-Planck Institute for plant breeding research (since 1938 Erwin Baur-Institude). Baur is considered to be the father of plant virology and discovered the inheritance of plasmids.
In 1908 Baur demostrated a lethal gene in the Anturhinum plant. In 1909 working on the chloroplast genes in Pelarganium (geaniums) he showed that they violated four of Mendels five laws. Baur stated that
- plastids are carriers of hereditary factors which are able to mutate.
- In variegated plants, random sorting out of plastids is taking place.
- the genetic results indicate a biparental inheritance of plastids by egg cells and sperm cells in pelargonium.
Since the 1930s and following the work of Otto Renner plastid inheritance became a widely accepted genetic theory.
Reference
- Hagemann, R. 2000. Erwin Baur or Carl Correns: who really created the theory of plastid inheritance?. Journal of Heredity 91:435-440



