摘要
Lysenkoism once was a popular word in the middle of the last century,but is now long forgotten by most people.Many young Chinese have never heard of T.D.Lysenko or Lysenkoism,neither do they know the impact Lysenkoism had on the history of biology in the former Soviet Union,in Eastern Europe,and in China.To put a long story short,Trofim Denisovich Lysenko was a Soviet agronomist who believed in inheritance of environmentally acquired traits.Starting in the 1930s,he received political support from the Soviet leaders and was gradually promoted to the top leader of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the Soviet Union.With the political influence and power in his hand,Lysenko began to promote his theory throughout the nation and eliminate any“harmful”ideas(i.e.Mendelian genetics)among Soviet biologists.The following events were more of a political movement than a scientific discussion,as Mendelian genetics was officially banned in the Soviet Union in 1948 and over 3000 scientists were expulsed from their positions.Many Soviet scientists were thrown into prison for expressing opinions dissent from Lysenko’s,and quite a lot suffered persecution severely,including the internationally renowned biologist Nikolai Vavilov.
