Question

De Vries theory of mutation is
A.Opposed to natural selection theory.
B.Not opposed to natural selection theory.
C.Opposed to germplasm theory.
D.Opposed to Lamarck’s theory.

Answer 1

In his own time, De Vries was the best known for his mutation theory.
He had discovered new forms among a display of the evening primrose growing wild in an abandoned potato field near the Hilversum, having escaped a nearby garden.

Complete answer: De Vries wondered if the 'sudden' mutations could be passed on to the next generation.
So he bred the plants, and he found that their offspring indeed also had the mutations.
Because these plants kept the mutations, he considered them to be brand new species.
And this is in contrast to the natural selection theory.
Therefore the correct answer is option A.

Additional information:
According to de Vries' work, Charles Darwin had proposed his theory of natural selection as a slow, gradual change of species over time.
Many scientists at the time believed in this very slow process, called gradualism.
They thought the process involved many small changes occurring and building up the many generations.
However, de Vries believed that evolution could occur via discontinuous variation, or large changes happening in a few of the generations.
This means that organisms can have drastic 'jumps' that immediately result in a new species coming into the existence.

Note: According to de Vries' mutation theory, living organisms can develop changes to their genes that greatly alter the organism.
These changes are passed down to the next generation and lead to the development of new species. Once a new species has evolved, it becomes fixed and stops changing.