For features that are stable over rounds of cell division but do not involve changes in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism, see
Epigenetics.
In
biology, epigenesis (or, in contrast to
preformationism, neoformationism) is the process by which plants, animals and fungi develop from a seed, spore or egg through a sequence of steps in which
cells differentiate and
organs form.[1]
Aristotle first published the theory of epigenesis in his book On the Generation of Animals. Although epigenesis appears to be an obvious fact in today's
genetic age, historically,
creationist theories of
life's origins hindered its acceptance.[2] However, during the late 18th century an extended and controversial debate among biologists finally led epigenesis to eclipse the long-established preformationist view.[3][4] The embryologist
Caspar Friedrich Wolff refuted preformationism in 1759 in favor of epigenesis, but this did not put an end to preformationism.[5]
^Baxter, Alice Levine (March 1976). "Edmund B. Wilson as a Preformationist: Some Reasons for His Acceptance of the Chromosome Theory". Journal of the History of Biology. 9 (1): 29–57.
doi:
10.1007/bf00129172.
PMID11615633.
S2CID44857190.