DifferencesBetweenAcquiredAndInheritedTraits

Acquiredtraits Anacquiredtraitisexperiencedbyanindividualduringhislifetime.Itinvolveschangesinnonreproductivetissues(orsomaticcells),whichcannotbepassedontothegermcellsorprogeny. Considerthefollowingexampletounderstandacquiredtraits. Inheritedtraits Inheritedtraitisadistinguishingqualityorcharacteristic,whichoneacquiresfromtheancestors.TheseinvolvechangesintheDNA.Hence,theyaretransmittedtotheprogeny. Thus,caseIIisanexampleofacquiredtraits,whichdoesnotleadtoevolution,unlikecaseI,whichinvolvesinheritedtraits. Earlyunderstandingsofinheritanceandevolution Duringhisvoyage,CharlesDarwinobservedmanyformsoflife.Heputforthhistheorythatevolutionoccurredasaresultofnaturalselection.Also,variationsoccurinapopulationandbeneficialvariationsare selectedbynature. However,hecouldnotexplainthereasonfortheoccurrenceofvariationsintheenvironment.Thisisbecauselawsofinheritance,inheritedandacquiredtraits,etc.werenotknownduringthattime. ThoughMendelperformedvariousexperimentsandputforththelawsofinheritance,thetwoscientistsnevermet.Asaresult,acompleteunderstandingonmechanismofvariationscouldnotbeestablished. Someinterestingfacts:

DoyouknowthatGoliathbeetleofAfricaistheheaviestinsectintheworld?Itweightsaround99.22g. Somebeetlesareevensmallerthanprotozoa.

Recentdiscussiononthislesson

MendelsLawOfInheritance
Theindividualsofafamily(parentsandoffspring)havemoresimilarityincomparisontoothers.Thisisbecausecertaincharacteristicsarepassedfromtheparentstotheoffspringswithoutanyvariation.. Heredityisdefinedasthetransmissionofcharacteristicsfromonegenerationtoanother.Thesecharacteristicsmaybephysical,mental,orphysiological. Commonlyobservedheritablefeaturesarecurlyhair,aparticulartypeofearlobe,haironearsetc. TransmissionoftraitsfromtheparentstoprogenyMendelsWork GregorJohannMendel(18221884)wasthefirsttocarryoutthestudyonthetransmissionofcharacteristicsfromtheparentstotheoffsprings.Heproposedthatheredityiscontrolledbyfactors,whicharenow believedtobesegmentsofchromosomesorgenes. Mendelperformedexperimentsonagardenpea(Pisumsativum)withdifferentvisiblecontrastingcharacters.Heselectedsevencontrastingpairsofcharactersortraitsinagardenpea.Theseinclude round/wrinkledseeds,tall/shortplants,green/yellowpodcolour,purple/whiteflowercolour,axial/terminalflower,green/yellowpodcolour,andinflated/pinchedripepods. Mendelsexperiment Mendelperformedexperimentsinthreestages:

Selectionofparents:Mendelselectedtruebreedingpeaplantswithcontrastingcharacteristicsforhisexperiment.Truebreedingplantistheonethatproducesanoffspringwiththesamecharacteristicsonself pollination.Forexample,atallplantissaidtobetruebreedingwhenallitsprogenyformedafterselfpollinationaretall. ProductionofF1plants:F1generationisthefirstfilialgeneration.Itisformedaftercrossingthedesirableparents.Forexample,Mendelcrossedapuretallpeaplantwithapuredwarfpeaplant.AllF 1plants werefoundtobetall. ResultsofselfpollinationofF 1plants:MendelfoundthatonselfpollinationofF1plants,theprogeniesobtainedinF 2generationswerenotalltallplants.Instead,onefourthofF 2plantswerefoundtobeshort. Mendelsexplanationforthereappearanceoftheshorttrait: Fromthisexperiment,MendelconcludedthatF 1tallplantswerenottruebreeding.Theywerecarryingbothshortandtallheighttraits.Theyappearedtall,becausetalltraitwasdominantovershorttrait. Dominanttrait:Itisatraitorcharacteristic,whichisabletoexpressitselfoveranothercontrastingtrait.Forexample,tallplantsaredominantovershortplants. Recessivetrait:Itisatraitwhichisunabletoexpressitseffectinthepresenceofthedominanttrait. MendelrepresentedthedominanttraitasuppercaseT(i.e.Tfortallness),andtherecessivetraitaslowercaset(i.e.tforshortness).Thesetraitsareactuallythegenespresentinthechromosomesofacell. Thus,Mendelsexperimentcanberepresentedasfollows:

Inheritanceoftraitsovertwogenerations TheappearanceofF1plantswassimilartotheirparentsi.e.theyweretall,butwereactuallydifferentfromtheirparents.Mendelintroducedthetermsgenotypeandphenotype. Genotypeisthegeneticconstitutionofanorganism,whichincludesallgenesthatareinheritedfromboththeparents.ForexampleTT,Tt,andttaregenotypesoforganismswithreferencetotheirheight. Phenotypeistheobservabletraitorcharacteristicofanorganism,whichistheresultofgenotype.Forexample,tallnessandshortnessarephenotypesresultingfromdifferentgenotypes. TheaboveexperimentofMendelinvolvedonlyonepairofcontrastingcharacters(tall/shortplantheight),soitiscalledamonohybridcross. Iftwopairsofcontrastingcharactersareinvolved,thenthecrossistermedasdihybridcross Flipacoin

Taketwocoins,apencil,andasheetofapaper.Flipbothcoinsatthesametimeandaskyourfriendtolisttheobservationsinthetablegivenbelow. Flipthecoinsfourtimes,andcalculatetheratioofthetosscombinations(HH:HT:TT). Again,calculateafter40andthen,after100flips. Count 1 Combination HT HH:HT:TT

2 3 4 5 100

HH

ItwillbeobservedthatthecombinationHToccurredmostfrequently,andtheratioforHH:HT:TTafter40and100flipsis1:2:1. Howisthisprobabilityrelatedtoheredity? Substitutecoinsforplantcharacteristicssuchastallorshortplantheight.ThegenotypicratioobtainedforacrossbetweentwoparentswiththegenotypeTt(comparedtotwosidesofthesamecoin)willbeTT:Tt: tt.Therefore,itwillalwaysbe1:2:1. PrinciplesofMendel:

Eachcharacteristicinanorganismisrepresentedbytwofactors(itmeansthateachcellhastwochromosomes,carryingthegeneforthesamecharacter). Whentwocontrastingfactorsarepresentinanorganismthenoneofthemcanmaskthepresenceoftheother.Therefore,oneiscalledthedominantfactor,whiletheotheriscalledthe recessivefactor. Whentwocontrastingfactorsarepresentinanindividual,theydonotblendandproduceanintermediatetype.However,theyremainseparateandgetexpressedintheF 2progeny.Theplantwith Ttgenotypeistallandnotofintermediateheight. Whenmorethantwofactorsareinvolved,theseareindependentlyinherited.

Mechanismofheredityatcellularlevel ThehereditymaterialintheformofDNAispresentinsidethenucleusofacell.ThesegmentofDNA,whichgivesinformationforsynthesisofproteininsideacell,iscalledthegeneofthatprotein.Theseproteins controlallthecharacteristicsofanorganism. Wehavealreadystudiedthatinbothplantsandanimals,growthorheightofthebodyiscontrolledbyhormones. Formationofshortandtallplants

Thus,theheightofaplantdependsuponthequantityandtypeofaspecificplanthormone.Thisquantityandtypeofhormonedependsuponenzymespresenttotriggertherateofproductionofhormones. Itisultimatelyagenethatcontrolstheamountofenzymes.Ifmoreenzymesareproduced,thentheplantgrowstaller. Ifanyvariationoralternationinageneoccurs,thentheenzymeproducedislessefficient.Hence,theplantisshortinheight. Transmissionofgenes Sexualreproduction,asweknow,involvesthefusionofcells.Asaresult,theamountofDNAinthezygotedoubles. InordertomaintaintheamountofDNA,thefusingcellsshouldcontainhalftheamountofDNA,sothattheresultingzygotehasthesameamountofDNAastheparentcell.Eachcellinourbodyhastwofactors orgenesforeachcharacteristic(Tort)asseparatepiecescalledchromosomes. Thesechromosomesseparatetoformtwogametes.Then,gametesfromboththeparentsfusetoformazygote,whichdevelopsintoanewindividual. Therefore,whentwogametesofthegermcellscombine,thenormalchromosomenumberisrestored. Everysomatic(body)cellofthehumanbodyhas23pairs(46)ofchromosomes.

Transmissionofgenesinchromosomes InterestingFact Doyouknowthatforcrosspollinationinplants,stamensandanthersareremovedfromtheflowerofthatplantmanually?Themanualremovalofstamensfromthefloweriscalledemasculation .

SexDetermination
Mostorganismsexistintwosexes,asmalesandfemales.Floweringplantsareclassifiedbasedonthepresenceorabsenceofstamensandcarpels.Inorganisms, phenotypicandgenotypicfactorsdetermine thesex. Youmusthaveseencouples,expectingachild,anxiousaboutthesexoftheirchild. Whatdeterminesthesexofanindividual?Isthesamemethodusedinallorganismsfordeterminingthesex? Thesexofanorganismcanbedeterminedbythefollowingfactors: Environmentalfactors(Nongeneticsexdetermination): Insomeanimalssuchasturtles,lizards,crocodiles,andafewsnakes,thesexoftheprogenydependsupontheincubationtemperatureoftheeggs. Forexample,incertainturtles,theeggshatchtoproducemaleandfemaleorganisms,whenincubatedatlowandhightemperaturesrespectively. Chromosomes(Geneticfactors): Asweknow,everysomatic(body)cellofhumanscontains23pairsofchromosomes.

Humanchromosomes Letusstudyhowthesechromosomesdeterminethesexofanindividual. Othertypeofsexdetermination:Somesnailscanchangetheirsex.Snailsstartdevelopmentasmalesandlaterchangetheirsextofemales.

Absenceofsexdeterminationsystem:Earthwormsarehermaphrodites.Theydonothaveseparatesexesasmalesandfemales. Someinterestingfacts:

Doyouknowthatinbirds,maleshavesamesexchromosomes(ZZ)andfemaleshavedifferentsexchromosomes(ZW)?Thissystemofsexdeterminationisreversedcomparedtothesystem foundinhumans. Infruitfly(Drosophila),sexchromosomesarenotpresent.SexisdeterminedbytheratioofthenumberofXchromosomestoautosomes.

VariationsInPopulationLeadToEvolution
Tounderstandvariations,letuslookatanexampleofhorsesbygoingbacktoprehistorictimes.Earlier,ancestorsofhorsesweresmallinsize(aboutthesizeofapony).Theyhadtoconstantlyfacethethreatof predators.However,asmallgroupofthesehorseswereswiftrunners,whichhelpedthemescapetheirpredators.Sincetheywereabletoescapepredation,theysurvivedandpassedontheirgenestothenext generation.Hence,thesevariantfastrunnerswereselected,whichevolvedtogiverisetothepresentdaytall,longlegged,modernhorses. Letusunderstandhowvariationsaccumulatetoproduceanorganismmoreevolvedthanhisancestors? Considerthefollowingexample:

Asmallpopulationofbeetlesliveinabushyareawithgreenleaves.Crowseatthesebeetles.Asaresult,variationoccursinthesebeetlesduetosexualreproduction.

CaseI:Duetotheoccurrenceofvariation,thecolourofoneprogenybeetlechangesfromredtogreen. Whatistheadvantageofthisvariationtogreenbeetles? Thegreenbeetlecanhideitselfinleavestoescapefrombeingeatenbycrows.Thus,thevariationprovidesasurvivaladvantagetothebeetle. Hence,theredbeetlesarerenderedmorevulnerable.Theirchancesofsurvivaltoreproducearelesserincomparisontogreenbeetles.Thisleadstoanincreaseinthepopulationofgreenbeetles.

Variationinpopulationbynaturalselection Thistypeofvariation,whichincreasesthesurvivalvalueofanorganism,isnaturallyselected. Naturalselection:Itmaybedefinedasaprocessthatresultsintheincreasedsurvivalandreproductivesuccessofindividuals,whoarewelladjustedtotheenvironment. Therefore(asseenabove),thepopulationofgreenbeetlesincreasesbecausetheredonesareeatenbythecrows.Thus,becauseofnaturalselection,thebeetlepopulationevolvedfromredtogreencolourtofit betterintheirenvironment. CaseII:Duetovariation,thecolourofoneprogenybeetlechangesfromredtoblue.

Thisbluecolouredbeetleisalsoabletoreproduceandformasmallpopulationamongtheredbeetles. Thesebluebeetlesareequallyvulnerabletocrows.Theyareaseasilyvisibleastheredbeetles. Letusassumethatonedayanelephanttramplesthebusheswheretheredbeetleslive.Mostofthebeetlesarekilled,butthosethatwereabletosurvivearemostlybluebeetles.Now,thebeetle populationismostlyblue.

Inthiscase,thecolourblueofferednosurvivaladvantagetothebeetles.However,themajorpopulationofbeetlesnowconsistsofonlybluebeetles(orgenesgoverningthiscolour).Thisisbecauseofthe accidentalsurvivalofbluebeetles.However,hadthebeetlepopulationbeenlarge,theelephantcouldnothavedestroyedtheentirepopulationoftheredbeetles.Thus,thisaccidentalchangeinthefrequencyof genesinsmallpopulationisreferredtoasgeneticdrift. Therefore,itcanbeconcludedthatvariationscanleadtoevolution. Heredity,asweknow,maintainsacommonbasicbodydesign(anewbornchildhasallthebasicfeaturesofahumanbeing).However,variationbringsaboutchangesinthebasicbodydesign(toensurethatall humanbeingsarenotidentical). Withsubsequentgenerations,thesevariationskeeponaccumulating.Thus,theyproduceorganismsthataremoreevolvedthanhisancestors.Theabovetwocasesinvolvechangesduetovariation,whichleads totheevolutionofanewlyformedspecies.Hence,variationscanleadtoevolution. Someinterestingfacts:

Speciation

Doyouknowthatbeetlesformthelargestorderofinsects?Therearemorethan300,000speciesofbeetlesintheworld. Themanybreedsofdogsexistbecauseofvariations.

Speciationmaybedefinedasanevolutionaryprocess,whichinvolvestheformationofoneormorespeciesfromanexistingspecies. Doyouknowhowanewspeciesofanorganismisformed? Letusconsidertheexampleofbeetles. Letusconsiderthatapopulationofbeetleshassplitintotwoseparatepopulations,whichcannotreproducewitheachother.

Formationofanewspecies Thesetwoseparatepopulationsofbeetlesarespreadonawidemountainrangesincetheirfoodiswidelydistributed.Hence,thepopulationofbeetlesinthatareaisverylarge. Beetlesaresmallinsects,whichcannottraveltofaroffplaces.Theygatherfoodfromnearbyplaces.Asaresult,subpopulationsofbeetlesarespreadoverthatarea. Now,letusstudyhowthesesubpopulationscanleadtotheformationofanentirelynewspecies. Geographicalisolation: Sincethispopulationofbeetlesisspreadoveralargearea,reproductioncannotoccurbetweenindividualsofsubpopulations.Reproductionwillonlyoccurwithinasubpopulation,whichwillleadtothe productionofanewspecies.Now,ifariverstartsflowingbetweenthetwopopulations,thenthetwosubpopulationswouldbefurtherisolatedandthechancesofgenefloworreproductionfurtherdecreases. Geneticdriftandnaturalselection: Geneticdriftandnaturalselectioncangiverisetodifferentchangesinsubpopulations.Forexample,aparticularsubpopulationofbeetlesevolvestoblueorgreencolourduetonaturalselectionorgeneticdrift. Thiswillresultinchangesinsubsequentgenerations.Thus,thetwopopulationsofbeetlesbecomecompletelydifferentfromeachother. Thesesubpopulationswilleventuallybeincapableofreproducingwitheachother.Forexample,thegreenfemalebeetlesofanareawillprefertoreproducewiththegreenmalesonlybecausegreenbeetleshave thesurvivaladvantage.Therefore,thisresultsintheformationofanewspeciesofgreenbeetles,whicharereproductivelyisolated. Letusnowconsideranotherexampleofspeciation: DarwinobservednaturalselectionamonguniquefinchesontheGalapagosIslands.ThesefinchesarepopularlyknownasDarwinsfinches. Canallanimalsbeseparatedintodifferentspecies?Itmaynotalwaysbepossiblebecausecertainanimalsformaringspecies.SupposeagroupofbirdshavesubspeciesA,B,C,D,E,andF. Then,subspeciesAcanmatewithB;subspeciesBcanmatewithAandC;subspeciesCcanmatewithBandD;subspeciesDcanmatewithCandE,andsoon.Asaresult,theyformaring. Thisspeciationoccursduetogeographicalisolation.Thistypeofspeciationisobservedingreenishwarblers(Phylloscopustrichiloides)intheHimalayasandLarusgullsinthearctic.

RelationshipBetweenEvolutionAndClassification
Inafamily,dosiblingsshowmoreresemblancewitheachotherorwiththeircousins? Weobservethatwelookmorelikeourownbrothersandsistersthanourcousinsi.e.siblingsresemblemorethancousins. Whyisitso? Letusconsideranexample.RamandAnujaresiblings,whileRajatistheircousin.Now,RamandAnujaremorecloselyrelated,astheysharearecentcommonancestori.e.theirparents.However,Ramand Rajatarealsorelated,butlesscloselythanRamandAnuj.RamandRajatshareacommonancestori.e.theirgrandparents. Withsubsequentgenerations,variationsmakeorganismsmoredifferentthantheirancestors. Therefore,wecanclassifyorganismsaccordingtotheirresemblance,whichissimilartocreatinganevolutionarytree. Classificationreferstoidentification,naming,andgroupingoforganismsintoaformalsystembasedonsimilaritiesininternalandexternalstructure,orevolutionaryhistory.Itdeterminesthe methodsfororganizingthediversityoflifeonEarth.

EvidencesOfEvolution
Letusunderstandhowevolutionaryrelationshipscanbetracedusingvariousevidences. ThereisadiversityoflivingorganismsonEarth,yetdifferenttypesoforganismshavesomefeaturesincommon. Considerthefollowingexample: Forelimbsofhumansandwingsofbirdslookdifferentexternally.However,theirskeletalstructureissimilar.Thus,theiroriginissimilar(aswingsinbirdsaremodificationsofforearms),butfunctionsaredifferent. Whilewingshelpabirdinflight,theforearmhelpshumanbeingsinvariousactivities.Thesestructuresarecalledhomologousstructuresororgans. Homologousorgans: Thehomologousorgansaresimilarinform(orareembryologicallysimilar),butperformdifferentfunctionsindifferentorganisms.Thebonestructure observedinwingsofbirds,wingsofbats,flippersofdolphins,andarmsofhumanbeingsissimilar,butperformdifferentfunctions.Theybelongtothe samegroupofanimals,thevertebrates,andtherefore,exhibithomology. Now,considerthewingsofabirdandaninsect.Theyaresimilarinfunction,butthissimilaritydoesnotmeanthattheseanimalsaremoreclosely related.Whencarefullyobserved,thewingsofabirdandaninsectarenotsimilar.Suchorgans,whichhavesimilarfunctionsindifferentorganisms(but arenotcloselyrelated),areknownasanalogousorgans. Analogousorgans: Theorgansthatperformsimilarfunctionsindifferentorganismsofdifferentoriginsareanalogous.For example,wingsofbirdsandwingsofinsects;finsoffishesandflippersofwhales;wingsofbirdsandwings ofbats(birdwingsaremadeoffeathers,whilebatwingsarefoldsofskin)allexhibitanalogy.Bothare usedforflight,buttheyarestructurallydifferent.Also,theyarefoundinorganismswhicharenotrelated. DoyouknowthatgeneticfingerprintingorDNAtesting(usingsamplesofDNA)candistinguish individualsofthesamespecies?Thistechniqueisusedinforensicsciencelaboratoriestoanalyze samplesofblood,hair,andsaliva. Fossilsasanevidenceofevolution Whatarefossils?

Agroupofstudentswentfortrekking.Afteratiresomeday,whentheydugthegroundtopitchtheirtents,oneofthemdiscoveredskeletalremainsofadeadanimalinsidetheground.Theyexamineditcloselyto findoutwhichanimaltheskeletalbelongedto.However,surprisingly,thefeaturesoftheskeletalremainsresembledmorethanoneanimal.Later,whentheytookittoalabforexamination,theydiscoveredthatthe remainswereofanancestralreptile,asoldas1000years! Letusexploremoreaboutfossils. FossilsaretheremainsoforganismsthatonceexistedonEarth.Theyrepresenttheancestorsofplantsandanimals,whicharealiveeventoday. Fossilsprovideevidencesofevolutionbyrevealingthe characteristicsofthepastorganisms,andthechangesthathave occurredintheseorganismstogiverisetoapresentorganism. Appearanceoffossils Fossilshavethesameshapeasthatoftheoriginalanimal,buttheir colourandtexturemayvarywidely.Thecolourofafossildepends uponthetypeofmineralsthatformit. Forexample,thefossilofabonewillnothavesomeconstituentsof theboneinit.Ithasthesameshapeasthebone,butitis chemicallymorelikearock. Ageoffossils Letusassumethataround100millionyearsago,some invertebratesdiedandgotburiedinsoilinthatarea.Withthe accumulationofsedimentontop,itturnedintoasedimentaryrock. Amillionyearslater,somedinosaursdiedatthesameplacewith theirbodiesgettingburiedontopofthesedimentaryrock.Asa result,themud,containingthedinosaurs,alsoturnedintorock. Anothermillionyearslater,somehorselikecreaturesdiedinthesameareaandgotfossilizedintorocks,abovethedinosaurfossils.Sometimelater,due tosoilerosionorfloodsinthatarea,therockscontaininghorselikefossilsgotexposed. Now,ifthatareaisexcavateddeeper,dinosaurandinvertebratefossilscanalsobefound.Thus,bydiggingthatarea,scientistscaneasilyconcludethat horselikeanimalsevolvedmuchlaterthandinosaursandinvertebrates. Therefore,theaboveexamplesuggeststhatthefossilsfoundclosertothesurfaceoftheEartharemorerecentthanthosepresentinthedeeperlayers. ThesciencedealingwiththestudyoffossilsiscalledPalaeontology. Evolutionaryline Letusunderstandhowthestudyofmodificationsorevolutionofcharacteristicshelpsusrelateanimalsandthus,createanevolutionaryline. Wecanorganizeanimalsinanevolutionarylineonthebasisofthefollowingfactors: Increasingcomplexityoforgans: Evolutionoftheeye

Theeyewaspresentintheearliestorganismsintheformofasimplepatchofphotosensitivecellscalledaneyespot.Thiswasfoundin lowerorganismssuchasEuglena. Thiseyespotgraduallybecamemodifiedintoacuplikestructureanddevelopedtheabilitytodiscriminatebetweenlightanddarkness. Thesewerecalledpiteyes.TheywerefoundinsomelivinginvertebratessuchasPlanaria. Insectshavecompoundeyes,whicharemadeofathousandunits.Hence,theimageformedontheretinaisacollectionofseveralsmall images. Humaneyesarehighlyevolved.Theyareoftencomparedtocameras.Itishighlycomplexinstructureandfunction.

Decreasingcomplexityoforgans: Vestigialorgans Therearesomeorgansinthehumanbody,whicharepresentinthereducedformanddonotperformanyfunction.Forexample,thenictitatingmembrane oftheeye,thirdpairofmolars,vermiformappendix,bodyhair,nipplesinmalesetc.Suchorgans,whicharepresentinareducedformanddonot playanyroleinthenormalbodyfunctions,areknownasvestigialorgans.Theseorgansareremnantsoftheorgans,whichwereoncecompleteand functionalintheancestors,butdisappearedgraduallyeitherbecauseofachangeinthemodeoflifeorbecausetheybecamenonfunctional. Changedfunctionsoforgans Somestructuresduringthecourseofevolutionchangedtheirfunctions.Forexample,somepastreptiles(whichlaterevolvedintobirdancestors)would havehadfeathers,whichwerenotnecessarilyusedforflying,butinsteadonlyprovidedthemwithprotection.Later,duringthecourseofevolution,these animalsdevelopedtheabilitytoflyandevolvedintoancestorsofbirds.Thepresentdaybirdsusefeathersforflight.Thisprovesthatreptilesandbirdsare closelyrelated,andthattheevolutionofwingsactuallystartedduringthereptilianage. Letusrecallanexampleofevolutionofanyorganismintherecentyears. Evolutioninthecabbageplant: EarlyfarmerscultivatedwildcabbageorBrassicaoleracea.Thiswild cabbagedevelopedintomanyvarietiessuchascabbage,broccoli, kohlrabi,cauliflower,kale,andbrussels.Thesevarietieswereartificially selectedbecauseoftheircharacteristictraits. RedCabbage:Itresemblesthecommoncabbage,butitsmainstem growstoaheightofabout6090cm.Thelateralbudsonthestem developintosmallheads(sprouts)similartotheheadsofcabbage. Thesebudsareconsumedascookedvegetables.Itisgrownfor selectinglargebudsize. Cabbage:Inacabbage,theterminalbudisconsumed.Itcanbeeaten rawinsaladsorcookedasvegetable.Itisselectedforshortpetioles.

Broccoli:Theyareselectedforlargeedibleinflorescence.Theediblepartsofabroccoliareclustersofflowers,beforetheopeningofflowerbuds.Itisselectedforlargeflowerstalks. Cauliflower:Theyarealsoselectedforlargeedibleinflorescence. Kale:Itresemblesthewildcabbage,butitisselectedforitslargeleavesandterminalinflorescenceofyellowflowers. Kohlrabi:Ithasathickbasalportioninthestem,whichisedible.Itisalsocalledturnipcabbage. Evolutionandprogressoradvancedlife Evolutioncannotalwaysbeequatedwithprogress. Evolutionsimplycreatesmorecomplexbodydesigns,butthisdoesnotimplythatthesimplebodydesignsareinefficient.Bacteria,withasimplebodydesign,arestillthemostwidelyfoundorganismsonEarth. Theycansurviveinhotsprings,deepsea,andevenfreezingenvironments. Therefore,humanbeingscannotbeconsideredasthehighestevolvedspeciesorculminatingspecies.Infact,humansareonlyabranchofevolution! InterestingFacts DoyouknowthatArchaeopteryxisatypeoffossil,discoveredintherocksoftheJurassicperiod?Ithadteethinjaws,clawsonfingers,longreptileliketail,feathers,beak,jaws,andbirdlike wings.Itisconsideredasaconnectinglinkbetweenthereptilesandbirds.

HumanEvolution
Doyouthinkallhumanbeingsbelongtothesamespecies? Allhumanbeingsregardlessoftheirskin,colour,placeoforigin,andotherfeaturesbelongtoasinglespecies.TheyareknownasHomosapiens. HumanevolutionisstudiedusingradioactivecarbondatingmethodswiththestudyoffossilsandDNAsequences.Ithasbeendiscoveredthatbothhumanbeingsandchimpanzeeshaveevolvedfromacommon ancestor(i.e.fromprimates). Now,youknowthatprimatesgaverisetobothchimpanzeesandhumans.But,doyouknowwhereevolutionfirsttookplace? Humanbeings(Homosapiens)evolvedfromprimatesinAfricabetween100,000and200,000yearsago. Humanbeingsaresociable(i.e.societyforming)anduprightwalkingspecies.Theearliestmemberofthehuman species(Homosapiens)canbetracedbacktoAfrica. EvolutionofHomosapiens FromAfrica,humansmovedtoWestAsia,Europe,centralAsia,andsoon.TheythenmovedtoIndonesia, Philippines,andAustralia.Atlast,theymovedtoAmerica. Doyouknowthathumanevolutionbeganaround45millionyearsago?Thoseancestorshadabrain capacityofabout450cc.Homosapiensaremodernhumans,whichappearedaround120,000yearsago.