How do you think

everything on Earth
began?
How everything on
Earth began?
Evolution and
Origin of Life
Learning Targets:
• Describe general features of the history of life on Earth,
including generally accepted dates and sequence of the
geologic time scale and characteristics of major groups of
organisms present during these time periods;
• Explain the mechanisms that produce change in populations
from generation to generation (e.g., artificial selection, natural
selection, genetic drift, mutation, recombination);
• Show patterns of descent with modification from common
ancestors to produce the organismal diversity observed today;
Learning Targets:
• Trace the development of evolutionary thought;
• Explain evidences of evolution (e.g., biogeography, fossil
record, DNA/protein sequences, homology, and
embryology); and
• Infer evolutionary relationships among organisms using
the evidence of evolution.
 01

Characteristic
of Life
Concept of life is not
simple concept to
explain
Situation analysis:
If you were an astronaut and you were to travel
to a different planet, can you list five
characteristics that you would look for to
determine if a particular entity on that planet is
living?
Cellular complexity
• All living things are
composed of either one
or more cells that are
highly complex yet
organized and enclosed
within membranes
Growth and Development
• Living things use energy
to grow by metabolizing
compounds by cellular
respiration or
photosynthesis
Growth and Development
• Organisms also
undergo different life
stages, which follow
systematic process from
birth to maturity
Reproduction
• Continuity of life would
definitely be impossible
without reproduction
Irritability (response to stimuli)
• All organisms are very
sensitive to different
stimuli (environmental
or psychological)
Homeostasis
• Living things maintain
relatively constant
internal conditions,
which are different
from their
environment
 02
Geologic Time
Scale of the
Earth’s History
Formation of Earth’s Crust and Ocean
Ca. 4.6 to 3.8 billion years ago

Around 4. 6 to 3. 8
billion years ago, debris
from the forming solar
system crashed into the
early Earth, keeping its
surface burning hot
Formation of Earth’s Crust and Ocean
Ca. 3.5 billion years ago

● 20% of oxygen
● 10% carbon dioxide
● 5 to 7% hydrogen sulfide,
● small amounts of nitrogen
● carbon monoxide
● free hydrogen
● methane and inert gases
Oldest Geological Evidence of Life
Ca. 3.5 billion years ago

Sedimentary rocks
formations called
stromatolites are strong
pieces of evidence that
the first microbes might
have existed during this
time.
Propagation of Cyanobacteria
Ca. 3.0 billion years ago

Photosynthesis allowed
these primitive
cyanobacteria to start
converting light energy
to chemical energy
Appearance of the First Eukaryotes
Ca. 2.0 billion years ago

Geological evidence
points out that life was
only composed of
prokaryotes until around
2 billion years ago
Influx of Multicellular Organisms
Ca. 1.2 billion years ago

During this period, it

was believed that
multicellularity occurred
several times
The Cambrian Explosion
Ca. 500 million years ago

Fossil records showed

evidence that there was a
drastic increase in the
diversity of complex faunal
species during relatively
short time span
Arrival of Modern Human
Ca. 200 thousand years ago

Paleontological evidence
suggests that modern
human might have
evolved from Homo
erectus approximately 250
thousand years ago
 03
Theories
about the
Origin of Life
Panspermia
propose that microscopic life
forms that survived the
effects of space became
tapped in debris that were
expelled into space after
strong collision between the
planets were responsible in
harboring life forms
Abiogenesis

• hypothesized that life evolved from

inanimate objects
1. Spontaneous Generation
described as the
formation of living
organisms without
arising from a similar
organism
Francisco Redi
- an Italian poet and naturalist demonstrated a
simple experiment to disprove such popular belief
at that time that maggots originate from rotting
meet
Louis Pasteur’s experiments
- his experiment
became the
foundation of
microbiology
2. Primordial Soup Theory
Alexander Oparin
- a Russian scientist
- hypothesized that possible conditions on the primitive
Earth allows the onset of chemical reactions that leads to
the formation of other complex organic compounds using
simple inorganic substances
2. Primordial Soup Theory
Roberto Shapiro
1. Earth has chemically reducing atmosphere
2. The atmosphere exposed to the energy of
various forms produced simple organic
compounds
2. Primordial Soup Theory
3. These compounds are accumulated in a
soup which may have been concentrated at
various locations
4. By further transformation, more complex
organic polymers and ultimately life developed
in the soup
2. Primordial Soup Theory
Stanley Miller &
Harold Urey (in 1952)
- simulated the putative
condition of the early
Earth’s atmosphere
3. The Clay Hypothesis
- proposed by Graham Cairns-Smith
- this hypothesis suggests that the first
molecule of life might have met on clay
4. Deep Hot Biosphere Hypothesis
- postulated by Thomas Gold
- this model suggests that life did not begin on
the surface of the Earth but instead in the
porosity of its crust.
 04
From the Origin of
Life to Evolutionary
School of Thought
Lamarck’s Theory of Adaptation
Jean Baptiste de Lamarck (1744-1829)
- French scientist
- one of the first proponent of the idea of
evolution
- suggested the concept of inheritance of
acquired characteristics
Charles Darwin and Natural Selection
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
- an English naturalist and geologist develop
his theory about evolution
- formulate the well known Natural Selection
Charles Darwin and Natural Selection
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
- his logic that if an organism developed or
possessed a small inherited variation that
would increase individual’s ability to compete,
survive, and reproduce, then this characteristic
will be passed on to the next generation.
Alfred Russel Wallace: The Father of
Biogeography
- started an expedition of his own in 1848
through Amazon and Southeast Asian Region
Alfred Russel Wallace: The Father of
Biogeography
- he studied hundreds of thousands of animals
and plants, meticulously recording the exact
localities where he had observed them.
Mendel’s Key
to Missing
Link
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
- Austrian monk who carried out imperative
experiments that would finally prove Darwin’s
concept of natural selection.
Evidences
of
Evolution
Evidence from Paleontology: Fossil
Records
- the most direct evidences that evolution had
occurred are the fossil records
- study of the fossils and sedimentary rocks is the
only way by which we can learn past
environments and climatic conditions on Earth
and the ways by which life evolved and diversified.
Relative dating
- is the process of determining if one rock or
geologic event is older or younger than
another, without knowing their specific ages
Absolute dating
- measure the physical properties of an object
itself and use these measurements to calculate
its age
The chronological order of the
major groups found via fossil
record shows a succession of
species that was foreseen by
evolutionary theory
Evidence from Geographic
Distribution: Biogeography
Biogeography is an interesting field in biology
where geographic spatial distributions of certain
species are investigated.
Evidence from Comparative Anatomy
Homology is defined as any anatomical feature
originally possessed by an ancestor that has
subsequently been modified by its descendants for
a specific function
Embryology
During vertebrate development, all embryos
exactly look the same during the very early stages
of development
Contrivances
Some characters that are passed on through
generation will not be “perfectly” adapted based
on the evolutionary theory
Vestigial Structures and Organs
These are structures that are currently of slight use
to the organism or there are not clear
physiological function known
Evidences from Physiology and
Biochemistry
If life was generated through evolution then we
might expect that closely related species will be
more similar to one another than their more
distantly related species
Evidences from Selection
1. Mutation
- is a change in the DNA
sequence of an organism.
Mutations can result from errors
in DNA replication during cell
division, exposure to mutagens or
a viral infection.
Evidences from Selection
2. Gene flow
- a result of migrating individuals that breed in a new
location
Evidences from Selection
3. Recombinations
- is a process that occurs during meiosis,
which is the type of cell division that
produces gametes. During this process,
homologous chromosomes pair up and
form a unit called a tetrad. The
chromosomes can then cross over and
exchange genetic material, which results in
new combinations of alleles.
Evidences from Selection
4. Genetic Drift
- any change in the allele frequences in a population due
to random sampling