The French School of Genetics: From Physiological and Population Genetics to Regulatory Molecular Genetics

Richard Burian , Jean Gayon (1, 2)

1 REHSEIS (UMR_7596) - Recherches Epistémologiques et Historiques sur les Sciences Exactes et les Institutions Scientifiques
2 IHPST - Institut d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques

French genetics had unusual beginnings. There are clear indications that the French biological establishment resisted Mendelian genetics strenuously from about 1910 to 1940. From about 1930 to 1950 several unconventional research programs with a strongly physiological orientation paved the way for the full entrance of French biology into genetics after World War II. This review examines some salient features of this history to clarify the strengths, weaknesses, and distinctive features of French genetics until about 1965. We suggest that after that data French genetics slowly merged into the international mainstream as genetics has become a largely molecular discipline.

Mots clés: Genetics; Human; France; Case history; Molecular biology; Population genetics; Europe

Mots clés: Génétique; Homme; Historique; Biologie moléculaire; Génétique population

Domaines: Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences

Richard Burian, Jean Gayon. The French School of Genetics: From Physiological and Population Genetics to Regulatory Molecular Genetics. Annual Review of Genetics, 1999, 33, pp.313-349. ⟨10.1146/annurev.genet.33.1.313⟩. ⟨halshs-00775517⟩