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Related Concept Videos

Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.
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.
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

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Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...
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The endosymbiont theory is the most widely accepted theory of eukaryotic evolution; however, its progression is still somewhat debated. According to the nucleus-first hypothesis, the ancestral prokaryote first evolved a membrane to enclose DNA and form the nucleus. Conversely, the mitochondria-first hypothesis suggests that the nucleus was formed after endosymbiosis of mitochondria.
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Synteny and Evolution

John H. Renwick first coined the term “synteny” in 1971, which refers to the genes present on the same chromosomes, even if they are not genetically linked. The species with common ancestry tend to show conserved syntenic regions. Therefore, the concept of synteny is nowadays used to describe the evolutionary relationship between species.
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Parallelism, deep homology, and evo-devo.

Brian K Hall1

  • 1Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. bkh@dal.ca

Evolution & Development
|September 29, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Recent studies redefine parallelism, aligning it with homology. Modern genomics reveals parallel phenotypic traits reflect parallel genetic evolution, a key area for evolutionary developmental biology.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Parallelism is undergoing reevaluation in evolutionary studies.
  • Recent research aligns parallelism with homology, contrasting it with convergence.
  • Debate exists on whether to abolish the term parallelism in favor of convergence.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reassess the definition and understanding of parallelism in evolutionary biology.
  • To explore the genetic underpinnings of phenotypic parallelism.
  • To investigate the role of developmental pathways in parallel evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent studies on parallelism.
  • Analysis of modern genomics and genetic data.
  • Examination of developmental and genetic perspectives on character evolution.

Main Results:

  • Phenotypic parallelism is increasingly understood to reflect parallel genetic evolution.
  • Sophisticated genetic analysis supports the link between observable traits and underlying genetic changes.
  • The concept of deep homology is being explored through the reuse of developmental pathways.

Conclusions:

  • Parallelism is a significant concept in evolutionary biology, closely linked to homology.
  • Genomic and developmental approaches are crucial for understanding the genetic basis of parallelism.
  • Distinguishing between homology, parallelism, and convergence remains an active area of research.