germ-plasm theory

germ-plasm theory, concept of the physical basis of heredity expressed by the 19th-century biologist August Weismann (q.v.). According to his theory, germ plasm, which is independent from all other cells of the body (somatoplasm), is the essential element of germ cells (eggs and sperm) and is the hereditary material that is passed from generation to generation. Weismann first proposed this theory in 1883; it was later published in his treatise Das Keimplasma (1892; The Germ-Plasm: A Theory of Heredity). This view contradicted Lamarck’s theory of acquired characteristics, which was a prevalent theory of heredity of the time. Although the details of the germ-plasm theory have been modified, its premise of the continuity of hereditary material is the basis of the modern understanding of the process of physical inheritance.