Evolution and evolutionary mechanisms

Evolution is the process of biological change over time. Such changes, especially at the genetic level are accomplished by a complex set of evolutionary mechanisms that act to increase or decrease genetic variation. Because of their rapid development and reproduction (i.e., high generation rate), evidence of the fundamental molecular mechanisms of evolution are especially apparent in studies of bacteria and viral microorganisms . Immunological adaptation has a profound effect on fitness and survivability.

Evolutionary theory is the cornerstone of modern biology, and unites all the fields of biology under one theoretical umbrella to explain the changes in any given gene pool of a population over time. Evolutionary theory is theory in the scientific usage of the word. It is more than a hypothesis; there is an abundance of observational and experimental data to support the theory and its subtle variations. These variations in the interpretation of the role of various evolutionary mechanisms are because all theories, no matter how highly useful or cherished, are subject to being discarded or modified when verifiable data demand such revision. Biological evolutionary theory is compatible with nucleosynthesis (the evolution of the elements) and current cosmological theories in physics regarding the origin and evolution of the Universe. There is no currently accepted scientific data that is incompatible with the general postulates of evolutionary theory, and the mechanisms of evolution.

Fundamental to the concept of evolutionary mechanism is the concept of the syngameon, the set of all genes. By definition, a gene is a hereditary unit in the syngameon that carries information that can be used to construct proteins via the processes of transcription and translation . A gene pool is the set of all genes in a species or population.

Another essential concept, important to understanding evolutionary mechanisms, is an understanding that there are no existing (extant) primitive organisms that can be used to study evolutionary mechanism. For example, all eukaryotes derived from a primitive, common prokaryotic ancestral bacterium. Accordingly, all living eukaryotes have evolved as eukaryotes for the same amount of time. Additionally, no eukaryote plant or animal cell is more primitive with regard to the amount of time they have been subjected to evolutionary mechanisms. Seemingly primitive characteristics are simply highly efficient and conserved characteristics that have changed little over time.

Evolution requires genetic variation, and these variations or changes (mutations ) can be beneficial, neutral or deleterious. In general, there are two major types of evolutionary mechanisms, those that act to increase genetic variation, and mechanisms that operate to decrease genetic mechanisms.

Mechanisms that increase genetic variation include mutation, recombination and gene flow.

Mutations generally occur via chromosomal mutations, point mutations, frame shifts, and breakdowns in DNA repair mechanisms. Chromosomal mutations include translocations, inversions, deletions, and chromosome non-disjunction. Point mutations may be nonsense mutations leading to the early termination of protein synthesis , missense mutations (a that results an a substitution of one amino acid for another in a protein), or silent mutations that cause no detectable change.

Recombination involves the re-assortment of genes through new chromosome combinations. Recombination occurs via an exchange of DNA between homologous chromosomes (crossing over) during meiosis. Recombination also includes linkage disequilibrium. With linkage disequilibrium, variations of the same gene (alleles) occur in combinations in the gametes (sexual reproductive cells) than should occur according to the rules of probability.

Gene flow occurs when gene carriers (e.g., people, bacteria, viruses ) change their local genetic group by moving—or being transported—from one place to another. These migrations allow the introduction of new variations of the same gene (alleles) when they mate and produce offspring with members of their new group. In effect, gene flow acts to increase the gene pool in the new group. Because genes are usually carried by many members of a large population that has undergone random mating for several generations, random migrations of individuals away from the population or group usually do not significantly decrease the gene pool of the group left behind.

In contrast to mechanisms that operate to increase genetic variation, there are fewer mechanisms that operate to decrease genetic variation. Mechanisms that decrease genetic variation include genetic drift and natural selection .

Genetic drift, important to studies of Immunological differences between population groups, results form the changes in the numbers of different forms of a gene (allelic frequency) that result from sexual reproduction. Genetic drift can occur as a result of random mating (random genetic drift) or be profoundly affected by geographical barriers, catastrophic events (e.g., natural disasters or wars that significantly affect the reproductive availability of selected members of a population), and other political-social factors.

Natural selection is based upon the differences in the viability and reproductive success of different genotypes with a population (differential reproductive success). Natural selection can only act on those differences in genotype that appear as phenotypic differences that affect the ability to attract a mate and produce viable offspring that are, in turn, able to live, mate and continue the species. Evolutionary fitness is the success of an entity in reproducing (i.e., contributing alleles to the next generation).

There are three basic types of natural selection. With directional selection, an extreme phenotype is favored (e.g., for height or length of neck in giraffe). Stabilizing selection occurs when intermediate phenotype is fittest (e.g., neither too high or low a body weight) and for this reason it is often referred to a normalizing selection. Disruptive selection occurs when two extreme phenotypes are fitter that an intermediate phenotype.

Natural selection does not act with foresight. Rapidly changing environmental conditions can, and often do, impose new challenges for a species that result in extinction. In addition, evolutionary mechanisms, including natural selection, do not always act to favor the fittest in any population, but instead may act to favor the more numerous but tolerably fit.

The operation of natural evolutionary mechanisms exhibited in microorganisms is complicated in humans by geographic, ethnic, religious, and social groups and customs. Accordingly, the effects of various evolution mechanisms on human populations are not as easy to predict. Increasingly sophisticated statistical studies are carried out by population geneticists to characterize changes in the human genome, especially with regard to immunological differences between populations.

See also Antibiotic resistance, tests for; Evolutionary origin of bacteria and viruses; Extraterrestrial microbiology; Immunogenetics; Miller-Urey experiment; Molecular biology and molecular genetics; Molecular biology, central dogma of; Mutants, enhanced tolerance or sensitivity to temperature and pH ranges; Mutations and mutagenesis; Radiation mutagenesis; Radiation resistant bacteria; Rare genotype advantage; Viral genetics