Evolution and Origin of Biodiversity

Mechanisms of Evolution
Mechanisms of Evolution
Everyone is puzzled until now about the true origin of human
beings. A lot of questions remain unanswered like, “Is it true that
humans evolved from chimpanzees?”, “Are we still evolving?” and
“Why haven’t we seen actual evolution in modern days?” As we
move along through this module, we will find answers to our
questions about evolution.
As you learn about the true meaning of evolution, we will also
study the different mechanisms that cause such changes in the
population of some organisms.
GENETIC VARIATION: CELEBRATE YOUR UNIQUENESS!

Have you ever wondered why do people look the same, but
also look different from each other? Like how you look like some of
your relatives, but still, you are unique and recognizable. To some
extent, even twins may look exactly alike but still, there will be some
traits that will make them different from each other, such as the way
they talk or the way they walk.

No two persons are genetically alike. Hence, no two persons

have the same codes of DNA. This is because as an individual, you
carry a unique set of genes. The differences between the genes of
each individual and the differences between genes of the different
populations are termed as GENETIC VARIATION.
GENE FREQUENCY and EVOLUTION

As an individual, you carry a unique gene of traits, so

as the other people in the world. But there are parts of that
gene in which you may find similarities with others. For
example, you may be unique because you are the only
person with tan skin and three moles beneath an eye within
your community, but you may also be the same with other
people in your community because the majority of you have
tan skin.

In a simpler context, gene frequency refers to how

common a specific gene is in a group of specie within a
specific area.
MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTION:

What causes a change in gene frequency? Gene and

the DNA don’t change overnight and don’t change with no
cause. There are various mechanisms that bring forth
changes to the gene frequency, let us investigate and explain
them one by one:
Natural Selection
Charles Darwin observed that
organisms produce more offspring than
the environment can support, organisms
vary in many characteristics, and these
variations can be inherited. So, he
concluded that individuals best suited for
a particular environment are more likely
to survive and reproduce than those less
well adapted.
Then he introduced this basic
mechanism of evolution which is the
natural selection. It is the process which
is also known as “Survival of the Fittest.”
Fittest means NOT the person or
organism with the “body goal” or
“fitspiration” body type. Fittest in the
ground of survival means the organism
with traits that are most adaptive to its
environment.
Artificial Selection
Darwin saw that when
humans choose organisms with
specific characteristics as breeding
stock, they are performing the role
of the environment. This is where
artificial selection or selective
breeding started.
One of the causes of change in the
gene frequency of some species
specifically domesticated plants and
animals is artificial selection or
selective breeding. It is when
humans selectively choose to breed
animals and plants with specific
traits that they deemed beneficial
for different purposes.
Genetic Drift
Genetic drift is a
mechanism that may bring change
to the gene frequency in a
population because of “chance”
events. It is a result of an incident
or accident which may have
brought significant and palpable
change to the gene frequency or
common traits in a given
population. Catastrophic events
such as floods, volcanic
eruptions, and a pandemic or
epidemic may greatly affect the
gene pool of a given population,
especially if the population is
small enough to be impacted by
some “chance” events.
Mutation
A Mutation occurs when an insertion,
deletion, or any change in the codes of the DNA
takes place. Changes in the DNA codes may
result from internal or external factors. Internal
factors happen when the DNA fails to copy or
duplicate the DNA correctly; while the cell has
many mechanisms to prevent this from
happening. There are still times when this occurs
and became undetected by the cells. External
factors are usually caused by radiation; this is
because excessive radiation causes ionization in
the cellular level of the body which may result in
the breaking of the DNA. The break in the DNA
will cause faulty replication and mutation. Not all
mutations are seen and manifested in the physical
characteristics of organisms, some mutations are
not even passed on from the parents to the
offspring. The Mutation on the sex cells or
gametes is the only type of mutation that may
affect the gene frequency of a population in the
long run, this is called a germline mutation. An
example of this is the antibiotic resistance of some
bacteria.
Recombination
Recombination or gene
shuffling is life’s way of bringing
variety in similarity. It occurs during
meiosis, the cell replication process
used for reproduction.
Recombination is also the reason
behind gene variation between
siblings and twins and makes genetic
diversity possible. During meiosis,
crossing over happens where
homologous chromosomes line up to
prepare for cell division. In this
instance, chromosomes exchange
information and shuffle parts of the
DNA which resulted in a very
random variation yet the same copy
of the original gene.