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Related Concept Videos

The Evidence for Evolution02:55

The Evidence for Evolution

Genetic variations accumulating within populations over generations give rise to biological evolution. Evolutionary changes can result in the formation of novel varieties and entire new species. These changes are responsible for the diverse forms of life inhabiting the planet. The evidence for evolution suggests that all living organisms descended from common ancestors.
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The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
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What is Evolutionary History?02:35

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Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
07:37

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Evolution before genes.

Vera Vasas1, Chrisantha Fernando, Mauro Santos

  • 1Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Grup de Biologia Evolutiva (GBE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.

Biology Direct
|January 7, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Darwinian evolution may have occurred before genetic templates. Chemical reaction networks with viable cores and peripheries, enclosed in compartments, enable adaptation and selection.

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Area of Science:

  • Origin of Life Research
  • Chemical Evolution
  • Systems Chemistry

Background:

  • Current evolutionary models rely on template-dependent replication (DNA/RNA).
  • Pre-cellular chemical systems, like Oparin's coacervates, are often dismissed.
  • This study explores Darwinian evolution preceding genetic templates.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate mechanisms for Darwinian evolution in pre-template chemical systems.
  • To determine conditions under which chemical reaction networks can accumulate adaptations.

Main Methods:

  • Modeling autocatalytic sets of organic polymers.
  • Analyzing chemical reaction networks with specific conditions for adaptation.
  • Simulating competition within and between compartments.

Main Results:

  • Autocatalytic sets alone do not evolve meaningfully.
  • Inhibition in autocatalytic sets leads to unselectable attractors, not selection.
  • Adaptation accumulation requires rare reactions forming viable cores (genotype) sustaining a molecular periphery (phenotype).

Conclusions:

  • Evolvability in chemical networks requires numerous viable cores.
  • Compartmentalization drives competition, enabling a 'poor man's natural selection'.
  • This provides a mechanism for pre-template adaptation and evolution.