Microevolution

Selective Breeding & Evolution

• Evolution is genetic change in a line of

descent through successive
generations

• Selective breeding practices yield

evidence that heritable changes do
occur
Chickens
 Domestication of Dogs

• Began about 50,000 years ago

• 14,000 years ago - artificial
selection
– Dogs with desired forms of traits
were bred
• Modern breeds are the result
Dog Breeds
 Results of Artificial Selection
• Extremes in size
– Great Dane and Chihuahua
• Extremes in form
– Short-legged dachshunds
– English bulldog
• Short snout and compressed face
• Extreme traits lead to health problems
 Evolutionary Theories

• Widely used to interpret the past and

present, and even to predict the
future

• Reveal connections between the

geological record, fossil record, and
organism diversity
 Early Scientific Theories

• Hippocrates - All aspects of nature can

be traced to their underlying causes

• Aristotle - Each organism is distinct

from all the rest and nature is a
continuum or organization
Great Chain of Being

?
 Confounding Evidence
( to the Great Chain of Being Concept)

• Biogeography

• Comparative anatomy

• Geologic discoveries
 Biogeography

• Size of the known world expanded

enormously in the 15th century
• Discovery of new organisms in previously
unknown places could not be explained by
accepted beliefs
– How did species get from center of creation to
all these places?
What, How, and Where?
 Biogeography
• Biogeography is the study of the
geographical patterns of plant and animal
species.
BioRealms
 Comparative Morphology
• Study of similarities and differences in
body plans of major groups
• Puzzling patterns:
– Animals as different as whales and bats have
similar bones in forelimbs
– Some parts seem to have no function
– (vestigial)
 Vertebrate Forelimbs

Bat Human Whale

Wolf Paw Anatomy
Vestigial Anatomy
 Geological Discoveries
• Similar rock layers throughout world
• Certain layers contain fossils
• Deeper layers contain simpler fossils
than shallow layers
• Some fossils seem to be related to
known species
Dinosaur Fossils Etc

Acrocanthosaurus Skull

Size 56" long.

Weight 150 lb's
Cost $9,500 with stand.
Grand Canyon
 19th Century - New Theories
• Scientists attempt to reconcile evidence of
change with traditional belief in a single
creation event
• Two examples
– Georges Cuvier - multiple catastrophes
– Jean Lamarck - inheritance of acquired
characteristics
 The Theory of Uniformity
• Lyell’s Principles of Geology

• Subtle, repetitive processes of change

had shaped Earth

• Challenged the view that Earth was only

6,000 years old
 Erosion

Wind and water produce hoodoos.

In German
 Darwin’s Voyage
• At age 22, Charles Darwin began a five-
year, round-the-world voyage aboard the
Beagle

• In his role as ship’s naturalist, he collected

and examined the species that inhabited
the regions the ship visited
 Voyage of the Beagle

EQUATOR

Galapagos
Islands
 Galapagos
Islands Darwin

Wolf

Volcanic islands
far off coast of Pinta

Ecuador
Marchena Genovesa

All inhabitants are Santiago

Bartolomé

descended from Rabida

Pinzon
Seymour
Baltra

species that
Fernandia
Santa Cruz

arrived on islands Tortuga

Santa Fe
San Cristobal
from elsewhere Isabela
Española
Floreana
 Malthus - Struggle to Survive

• Thomas Malthus, a clergyman and

economist, wrote essay that Darwin
read on his return to England

• Argued that as population size

increases, resources dwindle, the
struggle to live intensifies, and conflict
increases
Malthusian Catastrophe
Stopped Here
 Galapagos Finches
• Darwin observed finches with a variety of
lifestyles and body forms
• On his return, he learned that there were
13 species
• He attempted to correlate variations in
their traits with environmental challenges
Beaks
Galapagos Finches
Galapagos Tortoises
 Darwin’s Theory

A population can change over time when

individuals differ in one or more heritable
traits that are responsible for differences
in the ability to survive and reproduce.
 Darwin's Explanatory Model of
Evolution Through Natural
Selection*
• Note: An understanding of evolution by
natural selection is accessible to all.

• *Source: BSCS Green Version of Biology

 Facts 1, 2, and 3

• 1. Potential exponential increase in populations

(superfecundity) (Source: Paley, Malthus, and
others)
• 2. Observed steady-state of stability of
populations (Source: universal observations)
• 3. Limitations of resources (Source: observation
reinforced by Malthus)
 Superfucundity
Far more offspring are produced than
survive to adulthood.

Termites……..
 Inference 1

• Struggle for existence among individuals

(Author of inference: Malthus)
 Facts 4 and 5
• Fact 4
• Uniqueness of the individual (Source:
animal breeders, taxonomists)
• Fact 5
• Heritability of much of the individual
variation (Source: animal breeders)
 Genetic Basis for the
Inheritance of Phenotypes
Genetics provides a firm foundation.
 Inference 2

• Differential survival and reproduction i.e.

natural selection (Author of inference:
Darwin)
 Inference 3

• Through many generations: evolution. (Author of inference: Darwin)

The theory of evolution by natural selection is composed of facts and

inferences. Biologists have universally found this theory to be the
best account for the fossil record, biodiversity, comparative
anatomy, biogeography, drug resistance in bacteria, etc.

Like all scientific theories it represents the best that science has to
offer, but still it must be tested with any new scientific information
and may be modified accordingly.

So far the theory of evolution by natural selection is the best scientific

model for the biotic world.
 “Sister Species”

Florida Scrub Jay Western Scrub Jay

Aphelocoma insularis Aphelocoma californica

Distributions
 Alfred Wallace
(STOPPED HERE)
• Naturalist who arrived at the same
conclusions Darwin did
• Wrote to Darwin describing his views

• Prompted Darwin to finally present his

ideas in a formal paper
 Alfred Russel Wallace
• The Wallace Effect is the hypothesis that
natural selection can contribute to the
reproductive isolation of incipient species
by encouraging varieties to develop
barriers to hybridization.
• He is best known for
independently proposing
a theory of natural selection.
 Populations Evolve
• Biological evolution does not change
individuals
• It changes a population
• Traits in a population vary among
individuals
• Evolution is change in frequency of
traits
Variation in Color Pattern
 The Gene Pool
• All of the genes in the population

• Genetic resource that is shared (in

theory) by all members of population
 Variation in Phenotype
• Each kind of gene in gene pool may
have two or more alleles
• Individuals inherit different allele
combinations
• This leads to variation in phenotype
• Offspring inherit genes, not
phenotypes
What Determines Alleles in New
Individual?

• Mutation
• Crossing over at meiosis I
• Independent assortment
• Fertilization
• Change in chromosome number or
structure
Crossing Over
 Genetic Equilibrium

• Allele frequencies at a locus

are not changing

• Population is not evolving

 Five Conditions
• No mutation
• Random mating
• Gene doesn’t affect survival or
reproduction
• Large population
• No immigration/emigration
Microevolutionary Processes
• Drive a population away from genetic
equilibrium
• Small-scale changes in allele frequencies
brought about by:
– Natural selection
– Gene flow
– Genetic drift
– Sexual Selection
 Gene Mutations
• Infrequent but inevitable
• Each gene has own mutation rate
• Lethal mutations
• Neutral mutations
• Advantageous mutations
 Hardy-Weinberg Rule

At genetic equilibrium, proportions of

genotypes at a locus with two alleles are
given by the equation:
p2 AA + 2pq Aa + q2 aa = 1

Frequency of allele A = p
Frequency of allele a = q
p+q=1
 Punnett Square

p A q a

p A AA(p2) Aa(pq)

q a Aa(pq) aa(q2)
 Frequencies in Gametes

F1 genotypes: 0.49 AA 0.42 Aa 0.09 aa

Gametes: A A A a a a

0.49 + 0.21 0.21 + 0.09

0.7A 0.3a
 Hardy-Weinberg Application
(STOPPED Here)
• In a population of 1000 individuals, 40
have attached earlobes. Recall that the
attached earlobe phenotype is a recessive
condition.
Required:
(1) Calculate p and q.
(2) How many are heterozygous (Aa)?
 Solution
• We are given that (40/1000) is the frequency of the homozygous condition, aa.

Recall that p2(AA) + 2pq(Aa) + q2(aa) =1

q2 = frequency of aa individuals = .04. Therefore,

(q2)1/2 = q = .20

p = 1-q = (1 - .2) = .80

Heterozygous frequency = 2pq = 2(.8)(.2) = .32

1000 x .32 = 320 are Aa

How many would be genotypically AA?

 STARTING POPULATION
490 AA butterflies
Dark-blue wings

No Change 420 Aa butterflies

Medium-blue wings

through 90 aa butterflies
White wings

Generations THE NEXT GENERATION

490 AA butterflies

420 Aa butterflies

90 aa butterflies
NO CHANGE

THE NEXT GENERATION

490 AA butterflies

420 Aa butterflies

90 aa butterflies
NO CHANGE
 Natural Selection

• A difference in the survival and

reproductive success of different
phenotypes
• Acts directly on phenotypes and indirectly
on genotypes
 Reproductive Capacity
& Competition

• All populations have the capacity to

increase in numbers
• No population can increase
indefinitely
• Eventually the individuals of a
population will end up competing for
resources
 Variation in Populations
• All individuals have the same genes that
specify the same assortment of traits
• Most genes occur in different forms
(alleles) that produce different phenotypes
• Some phenotypes compete better than
others
 Change over Time
• Over time, the alleles that produce the
most successful phenotypes will increase
in the population
• Less successful alleles will become less
common
• Change leads to increased fitness
– Increased adaptation to environment
Results of Natural Selection

Three possible outcomes:

• A shift in the range of values for a given
trait in some direction
• Stabilization of an existing range of values
• Disruption of an existing range of values
Directional

Number of individuals
in the population
Selection

Range of values for the trait at time 1

Number of individuals
• Allele frequencies

in the population
shift in one
direction
Range of values for the trait at time 2

Number of individuals
in the population

Range of values for the trait at time 3

 Revisit the Cane Toad….
• Cane toads in Australia develop longer
legs: study
• LONDON (Reuters) - Cane toads in
Australia have developed longer legs to
enable them to invade more territory,
scientists said on Wednesday.
 Faster Toads
• Toads with longer legs are faster and are leading the invasion
into new territory.
• These longer legged toads are faster.

• What other advantage would speed impart to these toads?

 Peppered Moths
• Prior to industrial revolution, most
common phenotype was light
colored
• After industrial revolution, dark
phenotype became more common
Pre-Industrial Population
Peppered Moth on Bark
Light Colored Form on Dark
Bark
Result of Genes Interacting with
Environment
 Pesticide Resistance
• Pesticides kill susceptible insects
• Resistant insects survive and
reproduce
• If resistance has heritable basis, it
becomes more common with each
generation
Pesticide Resistant Insects
Pesticide Resistance in Crops

Global Problem
 Antibiotic Resistance

• First came into use in the 1940s

• Overuse has led to increase in
resistant forms
• Most susceptible cells died out and
were replaced by resistant forms
Resistance Transfer
Antibiotic Resistance
In the News
 Stabilizing

Number of individuals
in the population
Selection
• Intermediate forms
are favored and Range of values for the trait at time 1

extremes are
eliminated

Range of values for the trait at time 2

Range of values for the trait at time 3

 Selection for Gall Size
• Gall-making fly has two major
predators
• Wasps prey on larvae in small galls
• Birds eat larvae in large galls
• Flies that cause intermediate-sized
galls have the highest fitness
 Disruptive

Number of individuals Number of individuals

in the population
Selection
• Forms at both
Range of values for the trait at time 1

ends of the

in the population
range of
variation are
favored Range of values for the trait at time 2

• Intermediate

Number of individuals
in the population
forms are
selected against
Range of values for the trait at time 3
 African Finches
• Selection favors 60 nestlings

birds with very 50 drought

Number of individuals
large or very small survivors
bills 40

• Birds with 30

intermediate-sized
20
bill are less
effective feeders 10

10 12.8 15.7 18.5

Widest part of lower bill
(millimeters)
 Sexual Selection

• Selection favors certain secondary

sexual characteristics
• Through nonrandom mating, alleles
for preferred traits increase
• Leads to increased sexual
dimorphism
Elephant Seals - Harems
 Balanced Polymorphism
• Polymorphism - “having many
forms”
• Occurs when two or more alleles
are maintained at frequencies
greater than 1 percent
 Sickle-Cell Trait:
Heterozygote Advantage
Malaria case

• Allele HbS causes sickle-

cell anemia when
heterozygous Sickle-cell trait

less than 1 in 1,600

• Heterozygotes are more 1 in 400-1,600

resistant to malaria than 1 in 180-400

homozygotes
1 in 100-180

1 in 64-100

more than 1 in 64
 Gene Flow
• Physical flow of alleles into a population
• Tends to keep the gene pools of
populations similar
• Counters the differences that result from
mutation, natural selection, and genetic
drift
 Genetic Drift

• Random change in allele frequencies

brought about by chance
• Effect is most pronounced in small
populations
• Sampling error - Fewer times an event
occurs, greater the variance in outcome
Computer Simulation

1.0
AA in five populations

0.5

allele A lost
from four
populations
0
1 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Generation
(25 stoneflies at the start of each)
Computer Simulation

1.0

0.5

allele A
neither
lost nor
fixed

0
1 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Generation
(500 stoneflies at the start of each)
 Bottleneck
• A severe reduction in population size
• Causes pronounced drift
• Example
– Elephant seal population hunted down to just
20 individuals
– Population rebounded to 30,000
– Electrophoresis revealed there is now no
allele variation at 24 genes
Bottleneck Effect
• All Cheetahs are closely related as a
result of a recent bottleneck.
 Founder Effect
• Effect of drift when a small number of
individuals starts a new population
• By chance, allele frequencies of founders
may not be same as those in original
population
• Effect is pronounced on isolated islands
Catalina Island Fox
 Inbreeding
• Nonrandom mating between related
individuals
• Leads to increased homozygosity
• Can lower fitness when deleterious
recessive alleles are expressed
• Amish, cheetahs
 Atavistic Structures
• “Atavistic structures in individual members
of a species arise from a defect in the
individual's genetic development. A gene
may not turn on (or off) at the right time.”

• Combined with inbreeding, unusual

genetic patterns may immerge.
 Imagine…
• A human population that:
– Have tails
– Fully covered with hair (fur)
– Walk on all fours
– Genetic basis
 Human Tails
• J Neurosurg. 1985 Sep; 63(3): 461-2. Related Articles, Links
–
The human tail: a benign stigma. Case report.
Spiegelmann R, Schinder E, Mintz M, Blakstein A.
Thirty-three cases of true human tails have been reported in the modern English
literature. A new case is described and its radiological and pathological features
are presented. A review of the literature and analysis of the pathological
characteristics of this interesting lumbosacral stigma indicate that the true human
tail is a benign condition not associated with any underlying cord malformation.
Publication Types:
– Case Reports
–
PMID: 3894599 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
 Child with a Tail

Indian Journal of Pediatrics

2002 September; 69(9)
Islam MK.
Dept. of Paediatric Surgery, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical
College, Bangladesh. mkislam@gononet.com
Abstract
An interesting case of a child with a tail is reported. The child
had a tail like structure in the back since birth, increasing with
age. It was 20 cm. long, the longest tail so far described in the
English literature. There was no functional complaint. The
result was excellent after excision as the problem was only
cosmetic.
 Human Tail 1901 Photos

from Harrison, R.G. Occurrence of tails in man,

with a description of a case reported by Dr. Watson.
 “Walking on all fours with the
ancestors “ …BBC (March 07, 2006
)
• “FIVE brothers and sisters who can only walk
naturally on all fours are being hailed as a
unique insight into human evolution, after being
found in a remote corner of rural Turkey.”
• Genetic basis
• Siblings have a unique
• language
• Missing link? (Probably not)
 Hirsutism
• CASE REPORT
• BARBER-SAY SYNDROME: FURTHER DELINEATION OF THE CLINICAL SPECTRUM
•
• Fanny M. Cortés, Ledia A. Troncoso, Angélica R. Alliende and Bianca L. Curotto
Unidad de Genética y Enfermedades Metabólicas, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de
los Alimentos (INTA), Universidad de Chile, Macul 5540, Santiago, Chile. Send
correspondence to F.M.C.
•
•
• ABSTRACT
• We report on a 14-year-old girl who presented a multiple congenital anomaly pattern:
ablepharon, hypertelorism, telecanthus, macrostomia, helix agenesis of both ears,
redundant thick skin and severe hirsutism, the 5th reported case of Barber-Say syndrome.
Our patient had almost the same phenotype as that of the patient cited by Martínez
Santana et al. (Am. J. Med. Genet. 47: 20-23, 1993) including the same until then
undescribed dermatoglyphic pattern.
•
BARBER-SAY SYNDROME
 Lavinia Fontana
[Italian Painter, 1552-1614]

Portrait of a Girl Covered in Hair