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Madhi Elango
is never passed on. Thus the potential causes of mutation resulting in evolution are
numerous.
These mutations could lead to a change in characteristic and this could lead to one
of three types of selection. Disruptive selection occurs when a characteristic tries to
avoid a certain value; stabilizing selection is when a characteristic tries to go to one
certain value and directional selection occurs when there is a continual increase or
decrease of a characteristic.
The main method to represent evolutionary relationships is a phylogenetic tree. The
closer together two organisms are on this tree, the closer their evolutionary
relationship. To create a tree is often very hard but is done by comparing the base
sequences of the organism. Often, the introns of the DNA are compared as any
mutations here are more likely to be passed on as they will have no effect on the
organism. Two organisms with very similar base sequences must be quite closely
related so can be placed together on a phylogenetic tree. Furthermore, the
sequence for Cytochrome C is often studied it is in all eukaryotic organisms. In fact
to study the geographical origins of the human population, mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) is used. This is because all of the mitochondria come from the egg which
will only contain the mothers mtDNA. This means that the mtDNA is directly passed
from mother to offspring so there is not genetic variation caused by the crossing of
the chiasmata during meiosis. This means that any changes can be clearly
identified. In fact, the approximate rate of mutation per generation is known so by
comparing two mtDNA samples, the numbers of generations to a common ancestor
can be estimated.
One major example of evolution is the endosymbiosis theory which states
mitochondria were once free living bacteria. They were then absorbed into another
organism by endocytosis and they formed a symbiotic relationship. This provided
the
organism
with
advantageous
characteristics.
One
potential
negative
theory of evolution). In both cases, as the two groups cannot mate with each they
evolve differently. Sometimes this happens to the extent that when they try to mate
with each other again, they cannot produce fertile offspring as they are genetically
so different, thus two different species have evolved. A final consequence of
evolution is that the Hardy-Weinberg principle is not completely accurate as it
assumes that no mutations occur between generations and that all mating patterns
are random.
To conclude, there are many possible causes of evolution and even more
possibilities. However, evolution is a continually changing field of research and one
particularly new branch is evolutionary game theory which combines behavioral
traits with evolution. On a final note, it is often thought that Darwins theory of
evolution is the only correct explanation of evolution. The field of epigenetics
suggests that perhaps the Lamarckian theory of evolution is not so absurd as the
DNA methylation and histone medication occurring in our daily lives, could be
passed on to future generations.
Madhi Elango