Question

According to de-Vries, what is saltation?

Answer 1

Saltation is a single step large mutation that leads to the formation of new species (speciation).Hugo de Vries was a Dutch botanist and geneticist, he was the author of the well-known mutation theory of evolution. His work had later led to the rediscovery and establishment of Mendel's laws.

Complete answer:

1. According to de Vries, saltation means single step large mutations arising suddenly in a population causing evolution. In biology, saltation means(from Latin, saltus, "leap") a sudden change from one generation to the next generation, that is large, or very large, in comparison with the usual variation of a living organism.
2. The term “saltation” is generally used for non-gradual changes (especially single-step speciation) that are atypical of, or violate gradualism, which are present in modern evolutionary theory. In the early 20th century, large mutations were considered as a mechanism of saltation. This mechanism works out to be a faster alternative to the Darwinian concept of a gradual process of small random variations being acted on by natural selection.
3. Some of these geneticists developed it into the mutation theory of evolution. There was also a debate related to the evolution of mimicry and if this phenomenon could be explained by gradualism or saltation. The geneticist Reginald Punnett also approved of the theory of saltation in his book Mimicry in Butterflies (1915).

Additional information: In biology, saltation is described usually as a sudden and large mutational change from one generation to the next, potentially causing single-step speciation. This was historically considered as an alternative to Darwinism. Some forms of mutationism were evidently saltationist, justifying large discontinuous jumps.

Note: Speciation, such as by polyploidy in plants, can sometimes be gained in a single and in evolutionary terms sudden step. Many evidence exists for confirmation of various forms of saltation in a variety of organisms.