Evidences of

Evolution
Science 10
Week 5
 Human Body System
• Nervous System
• Reproductive System
• Endocrine System
 Protein
Synthesis
DNA vs RNA
 DNA Replication Review

Three main steps:

Helicase unzips/unwinds the DNA molecule
DNA Polymerase brings in new nucleotides
Ligase zips the new DNA back together

Why is DNA Replication important?

 The important idea is that an exact duplication of the DNA message is required,
so that each new cell in the body has the same set of genetic
instructions as the cells that preceded it.

 This also insures that every new generation of individuals has the same
genetic information as his/her parents.
DNA carries information that can be used to construct the
proteins which form structures and regulate the body’s
activities.

 Protein synthesis involves two processes: transcription and

translation.
 In transcription the DNA message is converted into an RNA
molecule.
 In translation the RNA message is used to assemble amino acids
into a protein chain.
DNA Replication
 First, let’s learn about RNA

RNA is also a nucleic acid, called ribonucleic acid

It only has one strand (DNA has two)
It contains the sugar ribose instead of deoxyribose
It has the nitrogenous base URACIL (U) instead of
thymine (T)
 There are THREE type of RNA
(wait for next slide for notes)

Messenger RNA (mRNA)

 Long strands of RNA nucleotides that are formed complementary to one
strand of DNA

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

 Associates with proteins to form ribosomes in the cytoplasm

Transfer RNA (tRNA)

 Smaller segments of RNA nucleotides that transport amino acids to
the ribosome where proteins are made by adding 1 a.a. at a time
Messenger, ribosomal, transfer RNA
 TRANSCRIPTION (the first step in protein synthesis)

 Through transcription, the

DNA code is transferred
to mRNA in the nucleus.

 DNA is unzipped in the nucleus

and RNA polymerase binds to a
specific section where a mRNA
will be synthesized
 Transcription does not happen all the time
Operon – the “switch” to
turn on/off transcription
Promoter – DNA site
that promotes RNA
polymerase to bind
Repressor – molecule
that binds to DNA to
block transcription
Inducer – molecule that
takes repressor away
 Changing nucleic acids into amino acids

 The three-base code in DNA or mRNA is called

a codon.
 They are always coded in threes
 Each triplet code corresponds with one amino
acid
 This is where TRANSLATION begins
TRANSLATION (the last step in protein synthesis)

 Translation begins when

mRNA binds to the
RIBOSOME in the cell.
 In translation, tRNA molecules
act as the interpreters of the
mRNA codon sequence.
 At the middle of the folded
strand, there is a three-base
coding sequence in the
tRNA called the anticodon.
 Each anticodon is
complementary to a codon on
the mRNA.
 Cleaning up the Message

 When the genetic message is

copied to make mRNA, the
message contains unwanted
base sequences.
 The ‘junk’ sequences (called
introns) are removed from the
message and the remaining
sequences (exons) are linked
together to produce a sequence
of codons that will translate
into a polypeptide.
 This process occurs before the
message leaves the nucleus.
 The role of Ribosomes

 The third type of RNA is ribosomal

RNA (rRNA). Ribosomes are made of
RNA and PROTEIN.

 Ribosomes are the ‘decoding’ units of

the cell. (Sites of protein synthesis)

 Ribosomes consist of two major

components — the small ribosomal
subunit which reads the RNA, and
the large subunit which joins amino
acids to form a polypeptide chain.

 Ribosomes have binding sites for

both tRNA and mRNA molecules.
Transcription and Translation
Evidences of
Evolution
SCIENCE 10
WEEK 5
 “The only thing that is
constant in this world is
change.”
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Fossils
• Fossils are remnants or remains of ancient organisms.
They give us a picture of how organisms have changed
over time. Scientists who study a certain fossil
consider its age, the place where it was found, and the
type of environment the organism lived in. Some types
of fossils can be found in the layers sedimentary rock,
while the others are trapped in amber.
• Do you know how a paleontologist usually determines
the age of a fossil? Paleontologists make initial
estimates of the age through the position in the
sedimentary rocks. Fossils found in the bottom layer
are much older than those found in the upper layer of
rocks.
• Both biologists and geologists
date the history of the Earth with
Geologic
the help of the
Time Scale (GTS). The
GTS organizes the history of the
Earth, noting the major changes or
events that have occurred. It uses
evidence from fossil and geologic
records to identify the organisms
that existed during a particular
time in the past and reveal how the
Earth and its climate were like.
• Using the GTS, scientists have
estimated that the Earth is about
4.5 billion years old and divided
this into a series of units based on
the order in which different
groups of rocks and fossils were
formed namely: Eon, Era,
Period, and Epochs. Era is
the largest division of the
Geologic Time Scale, namely
Precambrian, Paleozoic,
Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. Each
Era is further divided into
Period.
EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Fossils
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Comparative Anatomy
• Comparative anatomy is the study of the body
structures of animal to know how they have evolved
from the likes of their common ancestors for the
purpose of adapting to their environment.
Comparative anatomy poses two main ideas or
concepts. These are Homologous structures and
Analogous structures.
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Comparative Anatomy
• Homologous structures - means similarities in the body
structures of different species, which may have come from common
ancestors. These structures do not have necessarily have the same
functions. For example, the forelimbs of human and cat have different
functions but they have similar skeletal structure. The forelimbs of
whales and bats have also different functions but they have similar bone
structures. These similarities may have been caused by their common
ancestry.
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Comparative Anatomy

Homologous structures
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Comparative Anatomy
• Analogous structures - like a bird’s wing and a bat’s
wing, have the same function but these are not evidence that
they came from a common ancestor. The similarity only
reflects similar needs brought about by the environment.
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Comparative Anatomy

Analogous structures
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Comparative Anatomy
• Vestigial Structures – anatomical feature or behavior
that no longer seems to have a purpose in the current form of
an organism of the given species. Often, these vestigial
structures were organs that performed some important
functions in the organism at one point in the past.
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Comparative Anatomy

Vestigial structures
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Comparative Anatomy
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Embryonic Development
• The embryos of vertebrates look alike on their early
stages. An embryologist named Karl Ernst von Baer
collected several embryos of different organisms but
did not label them. He had a problem whether the
embryo he was holding is a salamander or a fish. This
led him to an observation that the more similar the
embryos are, the more they are related with each other.
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Embryonic Development
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Embryonic Development
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Genetic Information
Another evidence of evolution is provided by the biochemical
analysis and amino acid sequence of the organisms’ DNA. The
greater the similarity in amino acid sequence, the closer the
relationship of the organisms. The organisms which are similar in
structure and also possess similarity at the biochemical level could
probably have a common ancestor.
 EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION:

Genetic Information
Where can I see evolution in me?