Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
EVOLUTION AND SYMBIOGENESIS Refining Darwin’s Theory of Evolution ABSTRACT Evolutionary theory is not static; it is continually being modified and refined. Darwin’s theory of evolution by descent through modification is currently the predominate theory in evolutionary science. • This is because it is a flexible theory open to modification and refinement. Symbiogenesis seeks to modify and refine Darwin’s theory of evolution. BACKGROUND BACKGROUND Life is persistent and pervasive in its ability to exist in nearly all of the Earth’s environments. • This ability is due to life’s ability to change and adapt. Change and adaptation is achieved through evolution. • Darwin’s theory of evolution best explains the means by which species change and adapt. DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION Population of species are able to change over time due to three interacting conditions. • A given characteristic is variably distributed throughout a population of a single species. • This characteristic is heritable from parent to offspring via reproduction. • Those organisms with the greatest positive aspect of this characteristic survive to reproduce in greater numbers than those organisms with the less positive aspect of characteristic. • Darwin referred to this as natural selection. THE THEORY OF SYMBIOGENESIS Evolution occurs due to the long-term, stable symbiotic association of two unrelated organisms, and or their genomes. • These associations lead to abrupt evolutionary novelty. Natural selection still actively selects those organisms that are fit enough to survive. DARWINISM VS. SYMBIOGENESIS The role of accumulated change via mutation in Darwin’s theory is drastically overrepresented in evolutionary theory. • Evolution occurs due to the long-term symbiotic interactions of two different organisms. SIGNIFICANCE SIGNIFICANCE Evolution occurs relatively rapidly through the acquisition of foreign genes or genomes. The acquisition of genes can be immediately profitable or profitable later in the organism’s or species existence. Most species are actually a consortium of several species. The theory of symbiogenesis requires a reassessment of all previous evolutionary research. METHODS METHODS Organisms must be in the same place at the same time. They must be behaviorally induced to interact. • Grass requires sunlight to grow and thus grows best in plains, cows in turn inhabit those same plains. The interactions must be metabolically beneficial to both organisms. The products of both organisms must beneficially interact for both organisms. The genes of one organism must be incorporated by the other organism. METHODS OF DETECTION Gene sequencing and analysis are the main modes of detecting symbiogenesis. • Methods of analysis include examining substitution rates, phylogenetic incongruence, and scanning for polymorphic sites. • The different methods of analysis often lead to imperfect and contradictory results. RESULTS RESULTS Due to the lack of limitations on what counts for symbiogenesis, the full extent of life’s complexity is available for analysis. • This complexity is difficult to encompass fully in a formal definition. Species can adapt relatively quickly to varying environments through the highly heritable and acquirable nature of beneficial genes, as seen in several experiments with E. coli. The specific functioning of an integrated organism can be used to determine phylogenetic histories. ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS If the evolution of species is abrupt and heavily dependent upon associations as symbiogenesis theorizes, a reevaluation of all past evolutionary research is necessary. CONCLUSION CONCLUSION The theory of symbiogenesis does not stand opposed to Darwinian evolution. Symbiogenesis seeks to modify the concept of how evolution occurs among species, not how they are selected to propagate. The theory of symbiogenesis requires further refinement and support before it can be added to the forefront of evolutionary practice.