• UNIT-7: EVOLUTION.

• Causes: Changing environment & Genetic changes

• Is a gradual change of organisms through time.
• New species appear replacing older ones.
• Larger & complex organisms replace older & extinct
species.
• It also occurs due to genetic changes caused by:
• -Meiosis(Genetic recombination).
• -Hybridization.
• -Mutation & Natural selection.
• These changes lead to the origin of new species.
• Five theories of the origin of life.
1. SPECIAL CREATION (CREATIONIST THEORY)
2. SPONTANEOUS GENERATION THEORY
3. ETERNITY OF LIFE
4. COSMOZOAN THEORY
5. BIOCHEMICAL ORIGIN
1.SPECIAL CREATION:
 States that organisms were created by God in 6 days.
 Mainly focus on spiritual thoughts.
2. Spontaneous Generation.
 States that life can arise from non living matter spontaneously.
3. Eternity of life.
 States that:
 The universe always exists with life in it.
 No beginning or ending to life on earth.
 Opposes spontaneous generation.
• 4. Cosmozoan theory:
• States that:
• Life on earth originally came from else where in the
universe.
• Lacks concrete evidence.
• Highly linked to the theory of eternity of life.
• Biochemical Theory |Abiogenesis|.
• States that:
• Life was originated as a result of series of biochemical reactions forming
organic molecules.
• Biochemical combination of these organic molecules created the 1st
cell.
• This theory states that life on earth arised from nonliving matter only
once.
• OPARIN(1824) & HALDAN(1829) Suggested that,
primitive atmosphere had:
• No fee oxygen, but NH3,H2, H2O vapour &CH4.
• Appropriate supply of energy |UV-RAY|
• High energy would lead to the formation of organic
compounds.
• Organic macromolecules evolved in to the 1st primitive
anaerobic prokaryotes.
• Prokaryotes gradually aerobic organisms & eventually to
the evolution of autotrophs.
• THEORIES OF EVOLUTION.
• 1.Lamarck’s theory of evolution:
• Also known as theory of transformation|Lamarckism|.
• Lamarck proposed 2 theories of evolution:
A. Use or Disuse of structures.
States that:
Actively used Structures |processes became enlarged & well developed.
Structures not frequently used by the organism degenerate through time period.
B. Inheritance of acquired traits |Characteristics|:
States that:
Acquired characteristics gained in life time are inherited | pass to the next
generation |.
Lamarckism is rejected, as acquired physical changes in life time, are not
inherited.
• 2. Charles Darwin & Natural selection.
• Darwin &Wallace |1858 |, proposed that species are modified by
natural selection.
• Darwin visited 5 of the Galapagos islands & observed variations &
similarities among bird’s |Finches| populations.
• He suggested that:
I. Birds in different islands were Subjected to different environmental
conditions & evolved differently by natural selection.
II. Fecundity-Species produce more offsprings than can survive.
III. There is always variation among offsprings.
IV. Over population in limited to resources lead to strong way of
competition among members.
V. This leads to struggle for existence among populations & individual
members.
VI. ‘Survival of the fittest’ – Most fitted (adapted) members are selected
for, & unfitted ( less adapted) members are selected against.
• 3.Neo- Darwinism Theory:
• Takes in to account genetics & ethology |Behavioral patterns|.
• A modification of Darwinism.
• Darwin’s knowledge on how variations are inherited was limited.
• Neo-Darwinism states that:
• Genes & gene actions are the driving forces of evolution through
natural selection.
• A gene pool |All alleles in a population| might evolve a population in
to new species.
• Individuals with advantageous alleles will be fitted ,survive &
reproduce.
• Mutations introduce variations in to a population.
• Individuals with Beneficial alleles increase in frequency generation to
generation.
• Individuals with Harmful |unfitted| alleles decrease or even
disappear through time.