Question

The scientist who first discovered cytoplasmic inheritance was
(a)Correns
(b)Rhoades
(c)Mendel
(d)Morgan

Answer 1

The scientist was a German botanist and geneticist, who is notable primarily for his independent discovery of the principles of heredity, which he achieved simultaneously but independently of the botanist Hugo de Vries and for his rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's earlier paper on that subject.

Complete answer:
Evidence for cytoplasmic inheritance was first reported by Correns in Mirabilis jalapa and by Bar in Pelargonium zonule in 1908. Rhoades described cytoplasmic male sterility in maize in 1933. So the scientist who first discovered the cytoplasmic inheritance is Correns.

Additional Information:
A form of non-Mendelian inheritance, termed maternal inheritance, in which the mutation and disorder are passed from mothers and never from fathers to all of their children.
Characteristics of Cytoplasmic Inheritance:
The cytoplasmic inheritance is often detected by special methods. Two rules are used for their detection; one is negative and the other positive. Genes in diploid organisms exist in pairs and two members or alternative forms of a single gene are called alleles.

So, the correct answer is,” Correns”.

Note:
-The parent which contributes more to cytoplasmic inheritance is the mother or the ovum.
In the case of cytoplasmic inheritance, distinct maternal effects are observed. This is mainly due to more contribution of cytoplasm to the zygote by a female parent than a male parent. That is generally it is observed that the ovum contributes more cytoplasm to the zygote or the offspring than the sperm.
-Female sterility in maize is not an example of cytoplasmic inheritance. Cytoplasmic inheritance occurs in male sterility in maize, not in the female one.