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EVOLUTION
ORIGIN OF LIFE
Big Bang theory - origin of universe
Origin of water- Water vapour, methane, CO2&ammonia released from molten mass
covered the surface. The UV rays from the sun broke up water into H 2& O2 and the
lighter H2escaped. Oxygen combined with ammonia and methane to form water, CO 2&
others
Theories of evolution
1. Theory of special creation states that life was created by a supernatural power,
respectfully called as “God”.
According to this, all living beings have not undergone any significant change since
their creation
2. Theory of Panspermia ([Link] - 'all ';sperma - 'seed')/cozmozoic theory
Microorganisms / biochemical compounds from outer space are responsible for
originating life on Earth in the form of spores/ cosmozoa/panspermia
3. Theory of spontaneous generation/ A biogenesis /Autogenesis
Living organisms originated from non-living materials like air, water, dust, mud etc;
Aristotle, Epicurus, Helmont, etc believed in this theory
4. Theory of Biogenesis / theory of terrestrial
origin
Life originated only from pre-existing life
Louis Pasteur carried out an experiment that
would prove the theory of biogenesis.
In his experiment, Pasteur heated a number
of swan-necked flasks containing beef broth.
The bend in the neck prevented
contaminating particles from reaching the
broth, while still allowing the free diffusion
of air.
After a few days, microorganisms were
observed in the broth that has broken neck.
The swan-necked flasks had no
microorganisms in them.
This proved that the creatures were present
already in the air
5. Theory of chemical / biochemical/organic evolution by Oparin & Haldane in
1928
According to this, life originated through a series of organic chemical reactions
that produced ever more complex biochemical structures.
Haldane suggested that Earth's prebiotic oceans consisted of a "hot dilute soup" with
ammonia and phosphoric salts, light, High temperature, lightning, volcanic storms, etc.
in which organic compounds could have formed
This simple organic compounds combined & recombined in various ways to form
complex organic compounds such as proteins & Nucleic acids
Miller–Urey experiment / Miller experiment
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Water (H2O), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3) & hydrogen (H2) were sealed inside a
sterile 5-liter glass flask connected to
a 500 ml flask half-full of water
The water in smaller flask was heated
& water vapour was allowed to enter
larger flask.
Continuous electrical sparks in the
larger flask simulate lightning in the
mixture, & then it was cooled again
so that water condensed & fell into a
U-shaped trap at the bottom of
apparatus.
After a day, solution collected at the
trap had turned pink in colour, &
after a week of continuous operation
solution was deep red & turbid
The reaction was stopped & using
paper chromatography, Miller
identified five amino acids present in the solution
EVOLUTION OF LIFE FORMS – A THEORY
Darwin’s observation
In 1831, Charles Darwin made a sea voyage in a sail ship called H.M.S. Beagle round
the world
During his 5 year journey, Darwin made many observations that helped him to form
his theory of evolution.
EVIDENCES FOR EVOLUTION
1. From fossils (Paleontological evidences)
Fossils are petrified remains of hard body parts of past living things
The study showed that life-forms varied over time & certain life forms are restricted
to certain geological timespans
Family tree of Dinosaurs has been constructed on the basis of study of their fossils
Fossils help in understanding the evolution & phylogeny of animals like horse,
elephant, camel, human, etc.
Fossils provide the only direct evidence of the history of evolution.
2. Morphological & anatomical evidences
These structural similarities & dissimilarities among organisms proved that they
have been originated from common/same ancestor
Homologous organs – similar structure & origin; but different function
E.g., forelimbs of mammals like whales, birds, cheetah, man; Mouthparts of Different
Insects; thorn of Bougainvillea and tendrils of Cucurbita
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Homologous organs develop due to divergent evolution or divergent selection
Analogous organs
Dissimilar in structure & origin, Similar in function
E.g., Wings of Bats, Birds and Butterflies; Sweet Potato and Potato; Octopus and
Mammal Eye; Penguin and Dolphin Flippers
Scientists concluded that similar adaptive features in different groups of organisms in
similar habits (convergent evolution) result analogous organs
3. Embryological evidences
Based upon the observation of certain features during embryonic stage common to all
vertebrates that are absent in adult.
E.g., embryos of all vertebrates including human develop a row of vestigial gill slit
just behind the head but it is a functional organ only in fish
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This proposal was disapproved as embryos never pass through the adult stages of
other animals
4. Biochemical evidences
Similarities in proteins & genes of all life forms; similar biochemical reactions show
that they share common ancestry
5. Evidences from breeding
Selective breeding of domesticated animals & crops has created breeds that differ
from other breeds (e.g., dogs) but still are of the same group.
6. Current evidences of evolution
Industrial melanism – development of dark pigmentation (melanism) on organisms
in an environment affected by industrial pollution, including sulphur dioxide gas &
dark soot deposits.
Sulphur dioxide kills lichens, leaving tree bark bare
Darker pigmented individuals have a higher fitness in those areas & thus they are
favored by natural selection.
Similarly, excess use of herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics or drugs etc., has only
resulted in selection of resistant varieties &resistant organisms/cells in a much lesser
time scale.
ADAPTIVE RADIATION
evolution of an animal / plant group into a
wide variety of types adapted to specialized
modes of life i.e., evolution due to
adaptation
E.g., Darwin’s finches
Another example is Australian marsupials -
evolved from a common ancestral stock, but all within the Australian island continent
Convergent evolution / adaptive convergence
evolutionary process wherein two or more species in the same environment (an
isolated geographical area) develop similar adaptation or characteristics
Theories of bioevolution
1. Theory of inheritance of acquired characters / Lamarkism
Put forward by Lamarck in 1809, in his famous book, Philosophie zoologique
1) Direct environmental effect over living organisms: New needs in an organism
created by variation in environment modify organs of an animal in direct response to a
changing environment.
2) Use or disuse: The various organs became greatly developed through use or reduced
to vestiges through disuse
3) Inheritance of acquired characteristics: Such bodily modifications, in some
manner, could be transferred to future generation.
4) Origin of new species: accumulation of acquired characters lead to evolution of new
species
E.g., of Lamarkism
a. Giraffe: Ancestors of giraffe had a small neck & fore-limbs and were like horses.
But due to lack of vegetation, they had to stretch their neck & fore-limbs to take
leaves for food, which resulted in slight elongation of these parts.
b. Aquatic birds: structures like web between the toes developed in them, so that
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they could live in water easily. The wings were not used for flying later on got
reduced.
Criticism of Lamarckism
i. Desire of animal do not leads to formation of new structures. We cannot sprout wings,
even if we wish to fly like birds.
ii. Inheritance of characters acquired during the life time of individual has been
experimentally found incorrect by scientists.
iii. Boring of ear (pinna) is practiced in women for thousands years but this character
never been inherited.
iv. European women wear tight garments to maintain slender waist but their children
have normal waist at birth.
v. Chinese women wear tight shoes to have small feet but their children have normal
feet.
vi. Child of athlete is not born with powerful muscle.
vii. Children of noble laureate may not be as intelligent as the parent.
viii. Eyes of a voracious reader do not grow in size nor do they acquire improved eyesight
with increasing age.
2. The Theory of Natural selection
Described in detail in Darwin's influential book of 1859 ‘On the Origin of Species by
Means of Natural Selection.
Main features
a. Overproduction
All organisms have the tendency to produce maximum number of offspring & all
the offspring produced do not survive
b. Struggle for existence
Due to increased population through overproduction, a competition arise
between individuals for food, shelter, space ,mating, etc. occurs
c. Variations
Variations occur in some of the offspring to survive in the competition
d. Survival of the fittest
The individuals having favourable variations survive in the struggle for existence
& those with unfavourable variations die.
The ‘selected’ individuals by nature survive & reproduce next generation
This process of selection is very slow & takes place over a long period of time
e. Origin of new species
The favourable variations appeared in survived individual are inheritable & after
several generations, offspring appear to be different from the original species;
thus a new species get evolved
Mechanism of evolution
Mutation theory
In 1886, Hugo Marie de Vries discovered new varieties among Oenothera
lamarckiana (evening primrose) &introduced the term mutations- suddenly
appearing variations.
He postulated that evolution might occur more frequently with such large-scale
sudden changes than via Darwinian theory
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saltationism [saltation (L. saltus-'leap, jump') is a sudden & large mutational change
from one generation to next, potentially causing single-step speciation]
Salient features of mutation theory
1. Mutations are large, sudden & discontinuous variations in a population.
2. These changes are inheritable.
3. Mutations are random & directionless
4. Recurring mutations increases the chance of selection by nature
5. Discontinuous variations cause speciation
Criticism of mutation theory
i. Oenothera lamarckiana contains abnormal type of chromosome behaviour & are
unstable ; so his study material itself was not an apt one
ii. Mutations are incapable of introducing new genes & alleles into gene pool
iii. Evolution by saltation is still debatable
Population Genetics & Evolution
Study of frequencies of genes in population – Population genetics
Gene frequency - % of an allele in relation to the total alleles of a gene present in an
interbreeding population
Gene pool - total genes and their alleles in a population
Hardy-Weinberg Principle
This principle says that allele frequencies in a population are stable & is constant from
generation to generation.
Gene pool remains a constant. This is called genetic equilibrium/ genetic inertia/
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
Sum total of all allelic frequencies is 1.
In the simplest case of a single locus with two alleles denoted A and a with
frequencies f(A) = p and f(a) = q, respectively, the expected genotype frequencies
under random mating are f(AA) = p 2 for the AA homozygotes, f(aa) = q 2 for the aa
homozygotes, & f(Aa) = 2pq for the heterozygotes
p+q=1
(p + q) 2 = 1
p2 + 2pq + q2 = 1
When frequency measured,
differs from expected
values, the difference
(direction) indicates the
extent of evolutionary
change.
Factors affecting Hardy-
Weinberg equilibrium
(Evolutionary agents)
1. Gene migration /gene flow- introduction of genetic material (by interbreeding) from
one population of a species to another, thereby changing the composition of the gene
pool of the receiving population; it can alter allele frequencies in local populations
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only.
2. Genetic drift - change in frequency of an existing gene variant in the population due to
random chance; Genetic drift may cause gene variants to disappear completely and
thereby reduce genetic variation. It could also
cause initially rare alleles to become much
more frequent, and even fixed.
Founder effect/ bottle neck effect / Wright effect
A special case of genetic drift in which loss of
genetic variation occurs when a new population
is established by a very small number of
individuals from a larger population
E.g., Sickle cell anemia - caused by genetic
changes meant to protect against malaria. As a
result, those who suffer from sickle cell disease overwhelmingly come from tropical
areas / places where malaria is common.
3. Mutation- Mutations are sudden changes to an organism’s DNA Species evolve
because of accumulation of mutations that occur over time. One mutation occurs in a
million, still they are sufficient to create considerable genetic variation & thereby lead
to the formation of new species
4. Genetic recombination (genetic reshuffling) -rearrangement of DNA sequences by
the breakage and rejoining of chromosomes / chromosome segments during crossing
over of meiosis. If a trait is advantageous and helps the individual survive and
reproduce, the genetic variation is more likely to be passed to the next generation
(natural selection).
5. Natural selection - Natural selection causes a change in gene frequencies of a
population. The effect of natural selection may be of 3 types-
a) Stabilising selection
Stabilizing selection is a type of natural selection in which population mean
stabilizes on a particular non-extreme trait value.
Such a selection reduces variation
b) Directional selection
a mode of negative natural selection in which an extreme phenotype is
favoured over other phenotypes, causing the allele frequency to shift over time
in the direction of that phenotype.
more individuals acquire value other than mean character value
c) Disruptive selection/ diversifying selection
Extreme values for a trait are favoured over intermediate values. i.e., more
individuals acquire peripheral character value at both ends of distribution
curve
A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF EVOLUTION
Evolution of plants
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There is evidence that cyanobacteria & multicellular photosynthetic eukaryotes lived 1
billion years ago
Land plants might have evolved from a group of unicellular terrestrial green algae as
early as 850 mya
Sea weeds and few plants existed probably around 320 mya.
Plants were also constrained to upper layer of water that received enough sunlight for
photosynthesis.
Oldest fossils of land plant resembled liverworts date back 470 million years.
Water was also needed for sexual reproduction, so sperm could swim to eggs.
One of earliest & most important was the evolution of vascular tissues.
Vascular tissues allowed plants to grow large & endure periods of drought in harsh land
environments.
In addition to vascular tissues, these early plants evolved other adaptations to life on land
including lignin, leaves, roots, & a change in their life cycle.
Land plants evolved a dominant diploid sporophyte generation as diploid individuals are
less likely to suffer harmful effects of mutations.
Many nonvascular plants went extinct as vascular plants became more numerous.
Fossil records indicate first gymnosperms most likely originated in Paleozoic era about
390 mya
Gymnosperms expanded in the Mesozoic era (about 240 mya) & Jurassic period was also
the age of cycads (palm-tree-like gymnosperms)
Angiosperms evolved in parallel with gymnosperms during late Cretaceous Period, about
125-100 mya.
Evolution of Animals
About 2000 mya, first cellular forms of life appeared on earth.
Some of these cells had the ability to release O2 by the reaction similar to light
reaction of photosynthesis
Slowly single-celled organisms became multi-cellular life forms.
Insects evolved at the same time as earliest land
plants around 480 mya
By 500 mya, invertebrates were formed
Jawless fish probably evolved around 350 mya.
Fish with stout & strong fins could move on land&
go back to water about 350 mya
Animals called Coelocanth (lobefins) evolved into
the first amphibians that lived on both land and
water & ancestors of modern day frogs & salamanders.
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The amphibians evolved into reptiles which lay thick-shelled eggs which do not dry
up in sun unlike those of amphibians.
In next 200 million years, reptiles dominated on earth – dinosaurs
About 65 mya, dinosaurs suddenly disappeared from earth which may be due to
climatic changes, unknown disease, asteroid fall on earth / their evolution into birds.
Small sized reptiles of that era still exist today.
Mammals were derived in Triassic Period (about 252 - 201 mya) from reptiles
The first mammals were like shrews (rat-like)
Mammals were more intelligent in sensing and avoiding danger at least
When reptiles came down mammals took over this earth
Continental drift plays important role in evolution
Pouched mammals in South America were overridden by North American better
evolved mammals due to joining of North America with South America during
continental drift
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF MAN
1. Dryopithecus ([Link]-"oak tree" ; pithekos - "ape")
lived over 20 million years ago
common ancestor of man & apes
(oran-utan, chimpanzee, gorilla)
ape- like; size of a Rhesus monkey
walked semi-erect
almost equal sized arms & legs
Hands & skull monkey-like, fore-head was human-like
2. Ramapithecus
The first fossils (fragments of an upper jaw &some teeth) were
discovered in 1932 in Siwālik Hills of northern India.
First man-like creature
14–10 Mya ago
brain capacities were between 200 cc- 300cc
Height not more than 4 feet
Walked on its legs
Discoveries of jaw fragments suggested that they chewed from
side to side & had fairly short muzzles, both of which are
humanoid features.
3. Australopithecines ([Link]-‘southern’ + [Link]ēkos-‘ape’.)
First man-ape lived in East African grasslands
Lived from about 3.9–2.9 mya
averaged heights of 1.2–1.5 metres (3.9–4.9 ft)
brain capacities were 300-500 cc
they were bipedal
Their canine teeth were smaller than those of apes, and their
cheek teeth were larger than those of modern humans.
They hunted with stone weapons but essentially ate fruit.
Walked & ran on legs but knees were kept in bent position
Head resembled apes but rest of body was man-like
4. Homo habilis (L. homo -“man”; habilis- “handy”)
first human-like being the hominid
associated with the Early Stone Age
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partially arboreal lifestyle in the trees
tool maker/able man
brain capacities between 650 cc- 800cc
their diets had a greater proportion of meat than Australopithecus & derived meat
from scavenging rather than hunting
5. Homo erectus([Link] -“man”; erectus -“erect, high”)
discovered in Java in 1891
first human ancestor to spread throughout Eurasia
About 1.5 mya.
first human to have lived in a monogamous society
Apex predator - consumption of medium to large animals
&development of coordinated hunting.
earliest human ancestor capable of using fire, gathering in
coordinated groups, caring for injured / sick group members
Had a large brain around 900cc.
6. Neanderthal man / Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
Fossil discovered from Neandertal Valley of Germany
ability to create fire, build cave hearths, craft at least simple
clothes similar to blankets & ponchos, weave, go seafaring
through the Mediterranean, make use of medicinal plants, as well as treat severe
injuries, store food, use various cooking techniques such as roasting, boiling, and
smoking.
no sexual division of labour as seen in modern hunter-gatherer
Neanderthals were capable of speech
They used hides to protect their body and buried their dead.
with a brain size of 1300 - 1,600cc
Causes of Neanderthal disappearance - small population size, inbreeding, random
fluctuations & other factors such as competitive replacement, assimilation into
modern human genome (bred into extinction), great climatic change, disease / a
combination of these factors.
7. Homo sapiens sapiens
Arose in Africa during ice age between 75,000-10,000 years ago & moved across
continents & developed into distinct races.
Characterized by bipedalism & large (1350 cc), complex brains which enabled the
development of advanced tools, culture, and language.
Humans are highly social & tend to live in many cooperating & competing
groups, from families &kinship networks to political states.
Social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of values,
social norms, and rituals, which bolster human society
Curiosity & human desire to understand led to the development of science,
philosophy, mythology, religion, and other fields of study.
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