Tr Zaw
University of Medicine
Variation
Variation is the differences that exist within a species.
Gene mutation is the only way in which completely new genetic
material is produced. Some mutations may give an advantage to the
individual that express them.
An example is having a good camouflage to avoid being seen by a
predator.
But variation is also produced by sexual reproduction between two
individuals.
During meiosis, the alleles of different genes are 'shuffled' to give
new combinations in the gametes. At fertilization, when the gametes
fuse, alleles from the two different individuals (parents) are combined
within the same nucleus of the zygote.
Gene mutation, meiosis and fertilization give rise to variation
between individuals in every generation.
Types of variation
All humans have many features in common as we are all members of the
same species.
Now think about the similarities and differences between among
primates (human, monkeys and apes).
We have many features in common, but there are significant differences
which we use to categorise animals into different species.
Continuous variation - no clear cut distinction between the different
traits of a characteristic, e.g. height, weight, intelligence, skin colour,
number of seeds in a pod etc. It is caused by polygenic effects found in a
population
Discontinuous variation - a clear cut distinction between two traits,
e.g. eye and skin colour (pigmented or non-pigmented), left-handed /
right-handed, ability / inability to roll the tongue etc. These are carried
by single gene with different alleles.
Types of variation
Causes of variation
1. Sexual reproduction(recombinant of genes)
2. Fertilization is at random, thus the genes are recombined
3. Chromosome or gene mutation
4. Environment (not inherited)
5. Crossing- over may occur during prophase I of meiosis.
Homologus chromosomes may twist around each other, break off,
and thus
change the position of genes.
Consequence of variation
Some individuals
are better adapted to their environment than others
( continue to exist, multiply in large number, and pass on this useful
adaption to their offspring.)
Other weak individuals
die before able to reproduce.
This survival of the fittest is said to be the mechanism for evolution
in which nature selects the fittest and strongest individuals, in a given
environment.
Mutation
A mutation is a change in a gene or a chromosome that may cause a
change in a phenotypic characteristic.
Often this change can be harmful, but some mutations are beneficial
and some have no effect at all.
Mutations that occur in body cells, such as those in the heart, intestine
or skin, will only affect the particular cell in which they occur.
If mutation is very harmful, the cell will die and the mutation will be lost.
If mutation does not significantly affect the functioning of the cell, the
cell may not die. If the cell then divides, a group of cells containing the
mutant gene will be formed.
When the person dies, however, the mutation will be lost. It will not be
passed to their children.
Only mutation in sex cells (gametes), or in the cell that divide to form
gametes, can be passed on to the next generation and genetic diseases
can be formed.
Chromosome mutation
When cells divide, they do not always divide properly. Bits of
chromosomes can sometimes break off from one chromosome and
become attached to another.
Sometimes one daughter cell ends up with both chromosomes of a
homologous pair, whilst the other has none. These ‘mistakes’ are
called chromosome mutations and usually results in the death of the
cells formed.
Sometimes sex cells do not form properly and they contain more (or
fewer) chromosomes than normal.
One relatively common chromosome mutation result in ova (female
sex cells) containing two copies of chromosome 21. When an ovum
like this is fertilised by a normal sperm which contains one copy of
chromosome, the zygote will have three copies of chromosome 21.
This is called trisomy (three copies) of chromosome 21. Unlike
some other chromosome mutations, the effects of this mutation are
usually non-fatal and the condition that results is Down’s syndrome.
Klinefelter syndrome
Down’s syndrome
Down’s syndrome children sometimes die in infancy, as heart and lung
defects are relatively common.
Those that survive have a near normal life span. Individuals with Down’s
syndrome can now live much more normal lives than 20 years ago.
They require much care and attention during childhood, and particularly in
adolescence, but, given this care, they can achieve good social and
intellectual growth and also personal self-sufficiency.
Down’s syndrome is more common in babies born by women over 40
years of age than by younger women.
Turner syndrome
Gene mutation
A change in the nucleotide sequences of a DNA molecule is termed as
gene mutation. This can be caused by errors during DNA replication.
The order of DNA bases in a gene determines the order of amino acids in
a particular protein. If a mutation occurs in a gene, the primary structure
of the protein it codes for could be altered. This could change the final
shape of the protein, so it does not work properly and causes genetic
disorder called genetic disease.
Some examples of the genetic diseases caused by mutation of gene and
their symptoms are:
Causes of mutations
Mutations are caused by damage to DNA or by a failure in the DNA
copying process that occurs before nuclear division in cells.
They occur naturally at random, but the rate at which they occur is
increased by exposure to radiation and some chemicals.
Ultra-violet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays are the most damaging.
The greater the dose of radiation, the higher the chance of mutation.
Benzpyrene in cigarette smoke causes mutation.
Some viruses also cause mutation. The agents that cause mutation
are called mutagens
Evolution and adaptation
If the environment does not change, then natural selection maintains
populations or organisms so they do not change much over time.
Individuals at the extremes of the range of variation do not survive, as
they are not well adapted.
For example, female sparrows with very long or very short wings do
not survive to breed as they are often killed during stormy weather.
However, when the environment changes, individuals with features
that help them survive the changed conditions are at an advantage.
They may now compete successfully, survive and breed.
Natural selection will bring about a change to a species over time.
Thus selection of adaptive variation is the mechanism by which
evolution occurs – an idea first proposed by Charles Darwin in
1859.
Adaptation
Being adapted means being specialized to suit the environment in
which organism lives.
Features which enable organisms to survive are called adaptations.
Adaptations can be classified as anatomical, physiological or
behavioural.
Anatomical adaptations are the structures of an organism that is
modified to perform an adapted function.
Physiological adaptations are features of the processes inside an
organism’s body that increase its chance of survival or reproduction.
Behavioural adaptations are any actions by organisms which help
them to survive or reproduce.
Adaptation in camels
Camels are large animals which live and breed in desert, which is hottest,
driest and most challenging environment.
Incredible adaptations of the camel allow to survive and thrive as
herbivores in there
Some anatomical adaptations are;
Presence of closable nostrils and long eyelashes, which help keep out wind-
blown sand
Having large and flat feet with tough pads allows to spread out the weight
of the camel as it walks over sand and also prevent heat damage.
Tough pads on the knee prevent damage from hot sand when the camel
rest.
Some physiological adaptations are:
A camel can withstand a wide variation of internal body temperature
and can allow its body temperature to vary over 6°C.
The fatty tissue in the hump acts as food store. As the fat is broken
down to release energy during cellular respiration, water is produced as
a by-product. This water provides survival of camels without drinking
water for long period.
The kidneys minimize the production of urine.
Some behavioural adaptations:
They sit down early in the morning before the ground warms up with
their legs tucked underneath, so they can absorb a little heat from the
ground.
Groups of camels may lie down together. So that minimizing the
amount of surface of each camel exposed to sun.
As they are browsers, they can eat a wide range of vegetation in
desert, where carnivorous habit is impossible.
Natural selection
Natural selection is the process by which organisms that are well
adapted to their environment have a greater chance to breed and
pass on their alleles to the next generation than those that are less
well adapted.
The theory of natural selection proposes that some factors in the
environment 'selects' which forms of a species will survive to
reproduce. Forms that are not well adapted will not survive.
The following is a summary of the steps involve in natural selection:
1. there is variation within the species
2. changing conditions in the environment (called a selection pressure)
favours one particular form of the species (which has a selective
advantage)
3. the frequency of the favoured form increases (it is selected for) under
these conditions (survival of the fittest)
4. the frequency of the less well adapted form decreases under these
conditions (it is selected against)
As many gene mutations are harmful,
cells that carry them will not usually
survive.
Some mutations are 'neutral' and if
they arise in the gametes, may be
passed on without affecting the
survival of the offspring.
However, a few mutations can actually
be beneficial to an organism.
Beneficial mutations are the 'raw
material' that are ultimately the source
of new inherited variation.
Sexual selection
It is a type of natural selection and competition for mates along with
the development of characteristics that aid reproductive success
drive evolution
Artificial selection
Artificial selection is the breeding of only those individuals with desired
features as human choice, rather than environmental factors.
It is also called selective breeding. The methods used 50 years ago are
traditional selective breeding while those used today are modern
selective breeding.
The two types of methods are very different.
Modern selective breeding methods are cloning plants such as
micropropagation and cloning animals by genetic modification. Modern
technology makes it possible to create a new strain of plants within
weeks rather than years.
Traditionally, farmers have bred crop plants of all kinds to obtain increased
yield. They produced wheat very similar to the wheat used today. They
also produced many familiar vegetables. They selectively bred one
species of wild brassica (Brassica olera) to give several strains, each with
specific features.
Their aims to conduct the selective breeding of plants are:
providing higher yields
resistant to certain diseases and certain insect pests
for survival in harsh climates to create new strains of plants within weeks
rather than years.
having better balance of nutrients in the crop they produced
Farmers have bred stock animals for similar reasons to the breeding of
crops.
Their aims to carry out selective breeding on animals are:
to produce more meat, milk or eggs
to produce more fur or better-quality fur
to produce more offspring
Difference Between Natural Selection and
Artificial Selection
Some differences between artificial selection and natural selection
(the evolutionary process) are shown in the Table 5.1.
NATURE VERSUS NURTURE
Nature refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence
physical characteristics of an organism.
Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact on the
character
Chimeric
Speciation
When a new species evolves from an existing species, the process is
called speciation.
In general, speciation happens when some members of a species
develop adaptations that are different from the rest of the species.
This often happens if a group becomes geographically separated from
the original population. The selection pressures in the new environment
may cause the separated group to develop new adaptations. Many new
adaptations over time eventually cause the group to become a separate
species.
The Galapagos finches are a well-studied example of speciation. Small
groups of a finch species originally living on the mainland settled on a
variety of islands in the Galapagos off the coast of South America. Over
time, each group developed a unique beak shape as an adaptation to
the food available on their island. Now, each island has its own unique
finch species.
Types of speciation
Types of speciation
Allopatric speciation is also known as geographical speciation. The
difference in environmental factors causes the change in allopatric
speciation.
In sympatric speciation, the evolution of new species takes place
from a single ancestral species.
Peripatric speciation - Occurs when a smaller group of the main
population is geographically isolated.
Parapatric speciation - Occurs when one species is spread out over
a large area.
Pattern of speciation
There are two patterns of speciation.
Cladogenesis (from the Greek clados, “branch”) describes the branching of
evolutionary lineages, whereby an ancestral species can give rise to two or
more descendant species.
Anagenesis (from the Greek ana, “up”, referring to directional change)
describes evolutionary change of a feature within a lineage over time.
Evolutionary Relationships
Lions, tigers, and cheetahs are different species of large cats.
Common ancestry is the theory that related organisms evolved from a shared
ancestor.
Key points:
Evidence for evolution comes from many different areas of biology:
Fossils. Fossils document the existence of now extinct past species that are
related to present-day species.
Anatomy. Species may share similar physical feature because the feature
was present in a common ancestor (homologous structures).
Biogeography. The global distribution of organisms and the unique features
of island species reflect evolution and geological change.
Molecular biology. DNA and the genetic code reflect the shared ancestry of
life. DNA comparisons can show how related species are.
Direct observation. We can directly observe small-scale evolution in
organisms with short lifecycles (e.g., pesticide-resistant insects)
Fossil record
Organizing fossils by age shows gradual change in organisms.
Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct species of australopithecine
which lived from about 3.9–2.9 million years ago in the Pliocene of East
Africa.
Homo georgicus. 1.8 million years ago.
Homo erectus. 2.0(?) million - 50,000 years ago.
Homo antecessor. 800,000 - 200,000 years ago.
Homo heidelbergensis. 500,000 - 200,000 years ago.
Homo Neandertalensis. 300,000 - 28,000 years ago.
Homo floresiensis. ? to 18,000 years ago.
Homo sapiens sapiens. @200,000 - present.
Anatomy
Homologous structures are similar physical features in organisms that
share a common ancestor, but the features serve completely different
functions. An example of homologous structures are the limbs of
humans, cats, whales, and bats.
In evolutionary biology, analogous structures are biological structures
having similar or corresponding functions but not from the same
evolutionary origin. In other words, species use these biological structures
for the same purpose and yet these species are from unrelated evolutionary
lines.
Biogeography
Molecular similarities
Phylogenetic tree
Phylogenetic Tree is a diagram that
represents evolutionary relationships
among organisms.
Each species group can also be
referred to as a taxon.
The basal taxon is the first to
diverge from the ancestral.
Root = the oldest common ancestor
Node = where species branch off
from a common ancestor
Branch = the path of transmission of
genetic information from one
generation to the next.
Cladogram
A cladogram is a diagram that uses shared
characteristics to show how organisms are related.
Organisms are arranged on branches based on the
characteristics each has.
Look at the following cladogram.
The lancelet is the first branch because it has none
of the characteristics being compared.
The lamprey is second because it has one of the
characteristics, a vertebral column (spine).
The wolf has all of the characteristics.
The more characteristics two organisms share,
the more closely they are assumed to be
related.
Based on this cladogram, the turtle is more closely
related to the wolf than the salmon is, because the
turtle and wolf share all characteristics but one.
According to the information in the cladogram, which two plant
species are most closely related?
A. ferns and daisies B. conifers and ferns C. daisies and mosses D.
mosses and conifers
The cladogram was created using which type of evidence for common
ancestry?
A. fossil records B. biogeography C. molecular homologies D.
homologous structures
Which two organisms would most likely
synthesize the most similar enzymes?
A. monkey and mouse B. cow and horse
C. chimp and rat D. horse and dog 127.
Which of the following organisms are
most closely related?
A. platypus and opossum B. gorilla and
monkey C. gorilla and chimp D. rat and
dog 128.
Place an X on the spot on the diagram
that shows the most recent common
ancestor of the cow and the horse.