Sewell Wright

founded modern evolutionary theory - the shifting balance theory

foundr of population genetics
Wright had two brothers, Quincy and Theodore
- General
- What he’s famous for
o the shifting balance theory
- Personality
- Education
- How it applies to us

Wright made lasting contributions in statistics, mamma- lian genetics, animal breeding,
population genetics, a n d the theory of evolution. He would rank as an important contributor
in any of these areas. Collectively they place him among the greatest of twentieth-century
biologists. I'll cite one example of his remaining influence: The 1988 Science Citation Index
lists some 500 articles that refer to his papers.

Give a brief biography of the life and work of the geneticist Sewall Wright.

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Wikipedia

Achievements
His papers on inbreeding, mating systems, and genetic drift make him a principal founder
of theoretical population genetics,
Wright was the inventor/discoverer of the inbreeding coefficient and F-statistics, standard
tools in population genetics
He was the chief developer of the mathematical theory of genetic drift, which is sometimes
known as the Sewall Wright effect,
mathematical basis for modern evolutionary theory, using statistical techniques toward this
end.
when small populations of a species are isolated, out of pure chance the few individuals who
carry certain relatively rare genes may fail to transmit them. The genes may therefore
disappear and their loss may lead to the emergence of new species, although natural
selection has played no part in the process.
There he studied for his doctorate which was awarded in 1915 for his dissertation on the
inheritance of coat colours of guinea pigs
The differential equation of the distribution of gene frequencies
Wright's unique contribution was his "shifting balance theory," which holds that
the best opportunity for evolutionary progress is afforded by a large population
comprising many partially isolated local groups.
- Within each group a certain amount of trial and error experimentation can take
place, and successful combinations can spread throughout the population.
- Wright also developed much of the theory of inbreeding (his coefficient of
inbreeding is standard material in elementary textbooks)

Crow writes in [7] about Wright's teaching:-

He was a conscientious teacher, and spent many hours in the classroom and in the laboratory,
which he ran himself. ... His lectures invariably ran far over the allotted time.
As to his character, Crow writes [7]:-

Socially, Wright was shy and retiring. He had no small talk and was hard to engage in
conversation. But, paradoxically, when he did start to talk about something of interest - his
childhood, his experience on the railroad surveying team, his ancestors, guinea pigs, evolution,
genetics, politics - he could, and would, talk at length. ... He was always gentle, yet he defended
his views forcefully and he stated them fully. ... In regard to his time, he was generous to a
fault.
In 1917–1918, Wright published a ten-paper series on coat color
inheritance in mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, cattle, horses, swine,
dogs, cats, and humans (1917; 1918a). Wright’s work was cutting-edge
at the time: He found similarities and purported homologies among
genes with similar effects in all these species, some of which were later
confirmed; he also interpreted coat colors in terms of
contemporaneous knowledge of enzymes and pigment chemistry. In
addition, Wright analyzed the inheritance of size factors into
 components based on correlation of various body parts (1918b). He
partitioned the variance in size into components of general size, limb-
specific factors, forelimb and hind-limb factors, upper-limb and lower-
limb factors, and special factors for each part.

Legacy
- key figures in the modern synthesis that brought genetics and evolution together
Dobzhansky, Mayr, Simpson, Julian Huxley, and Stebbins
The modern synthesis was the most important development in evolutionary biology
Book of Why
OpenMx has as its icon a representation of Wright's Piebald Guinea Pig.
Unfortunately, his failing eyesight prevented his seeing it again in the 1980s. As a result of
his lung infection, Wright was refused standard life insurance, a fact that he found
increasingly ironic as he continued to live into his late nineties
In his nineties Wright's eyesight became so poor that he could read only with the aid of an
enlarging machinexw
His last paper was published in 1988 and reprints came only a few days before his death.
Wright was in excellent health until the end. It was on one of his customary long walks that
he slipped on an icy spot. He died suddenly and unexpectedly a few days later, March 3,
1988, from a pulmonary embolism, the consequence of a pelvic fracture.

Died: 3-Mar-1988
Location of death: Madison, WI
Cause of death: Accident - Fall [1]
Gender: Male
Religion: Unitarian
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Biologist
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Mathematics of evolution
Population geneticist and evolutionary theorist Sewall Wright coined the term "genetic drift" to describe the ra
frequency of various alleles in a population. He used mathematics to explain the action of genes in evolution, s
mutation, and other evolutionary pressures affect the frequencies of alleles (viable DNA coding that occupies a
chromosome) and genotypes (the genetic makeup of an organism).
Introduced in his 1931 paper "Evolution in Mendelian Populations," Wright's notion of "shifting balance" hold
subject to different evolutionary pressures as groups become partially isolated, geographically, from others of
of these isolated groups arrives at a state that is better adapted to its environment through random gene-frequen
group eventually travel and bring that evolutionary upgrade the species at large. This concept was disputed ove
Fisher, who argued that the random gene-frequency drift was of minimal importance, and that instead large po
selection is the most effective driver in evolution.
Wright spent the first decade of his career at the Department of Agriculture, where he perfected the inbreeding
algorithm for determining the effect of inbreeding on heterozygosity (the presence of different alleles at one or
chromosomes).
- [1] Complications from a broken pelvis, suffered in a fall on the ice.

Used Resources
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sewall-Wright
https://www.nap.edu/read/4547/chapter/21
https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/science-and-technology/genetics-and-genetic-
engineering-biographies/sewall-wright
https://www.the-scientist.com/books-etc-/profile-of-sewall-wright-more-than-a-
biography-64152
https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/sewall-wright-and-the-development-of-
shifting-30508
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewall_Wright#Biography
https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/science-and-technology/genetics-and-genetic-
engineering-biographies/sewall-wright
Hi guys today I will be giving brief biography of the life and work of the geneticist Sewall
Wright.

So the first thing we have to ask ourselves is Who Is Wright Sewell?

- American Geneticist born in 1889 at Melrose, Massachusetts to Philip Green
Wright and Elizabeth Quincy Sewall Wright
o Fun fact his parents were cousins, which is ironic as he later developed a theory
regarding the consequences of inbreeding. but more on that later
- From an early age Wright had a love and talent for mathematics and biology.
o Educated at home
o He found grade and high school a disappointment, having learned most of the
material at home on his own.
 he pursued his interests in natural history
o

He was educated at home until he was eight years old and by the time he entered school in
1897 he had read his father's mathematics books

He was fascinated by mathematical models and calculating, learning arithmetical methods

from his mother.

What’s he famous for?

- Genetic drift and shifting balance theory
Legacy
-

mentoring of Wilhelmine Entemann Key (who was one of the first

women to earn a PhD at the University of Chicago