Q.List the four postulates of Lamarckism. Give one example given by Lamarck in support of his theory. OR What is haemophilia? With the help of a cross, explain why this genetic disorder occurs more in male individuals than females.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Lamarck proposed that organisms change during their lifetime in response to their environment/needs, and that these acquired changes are inherited by offspring — summarized in four postulates, classically illustrated by the giraffe's neck.
The four postulates of Lamarckism
- Tendency towards increased size (growth): Living organisms and their organs have an inherent tendency to increase in size over successive generations.
- Production of new organs/felt needs: New organs or structures arise in an organism's body in response to a need felt by the organism for a particular function, in response to its environment.
- Use and disuse of organs: Organs that are used continuously and vigorously become more developed and stronger, while organs that are not used tend to become weaker and gradually degenerate (become vestigial) over generations.
- Inheritance of acquired characters: Modifications or characters acquired by an individual during its own lifetime (through use/disuse or response to environment) are passed on to its offspring, and accumulate over generations to eventually give rise to new species.
Lamarck's classic example — the giraffe's neck
Lamarck explained the long neck of the modern giraffe using his theory: the ancestors of the giraffe had short necks, but as they had to constantly stretch their necks to browse leaves from tall trees (due to scarcity of food at lower levels), their necks became slightly longer during their lifetime (use of the neck). This acquired increase in neck length was then inherited by their offspring, and over many successive generations of continued stretching-and-inheriting, this gradually produced the very long neck seen in giraffes today.
(Note: this mechanism of inheritance of acquired characters is not supported by modern genetics — acquired somatic changes are not transmitted through the germline — but it remains an important historical postulate in the study of evolutionary theory.)
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