Evolution Flashcards
Evidence that Life Descended from a Common Ancestor
- All life possesses the same macromolecules.
- Common mechanisms of DNA replication
- Common metabolic pathways
- Common genetic code
- Similarity of form
- Similarity of DNA sequences
- Fossil record`
3 Domains of Life
Eukarya, Prokaryotes, Archaea
Evidence that Archaea and Eukaryotes are Relatives
ribosomal proteins, translation factors, proteins involved in transcription
2 Parts of Evolution
Anagenis - change in lineage over time
Cladogenesis - splitting of one lineage into 2
Basic Idea of Evolution by Natural Selection
- Individuals within a population are variable.
- The variations among individuals are passed from parents to offspring.
- In early generation, some individuals are more successful at surviving and reproducing.
- The individuals with the most favorable variations are naturally selected.
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
French biologist argued for evolution through inheritance of acquired characteristics
Thomas Malthus
English economist and demographer, thought population will eventually outstrip food supply
Charles Lyell
English geologist, assumed uniformitarianism (processes we see today also acted in the past)
3 Elements of Natural Selection
variation, heritability, differential success
5 Assumptions of Hardy-Weinberg
- Random mating
- No gene flow
- No genetic drift (population is large)
- No mutations
- No natural selection
Forces that Shape Allele Frequencies
- Mutation
- Natural Selection
- Genetic Drift
- Gene Flow
Mutation
ultimate source of all genetic variation
types - point, germ line, chromosomal, small insertions/deletions
Point Mutation
change in a single letter of DNA
Germ Line Mutation
mutation in cells that give rise to sperm/eggs
Chromosomal Mutation
chromosomes are rearranged, lost, or duplicated (eg Down’s Syndrome)
Directional Selection
results when one allele confers higher fitness relative to other alleles
Purifying Selection
eliminates deleterious alleles
Balancing Selection
occurs when heterozygotes have higher fitness than either homozygote
Genetic Drift
change in allele frequencies due to random sampling
Characteristics of Genetic Drift
- effect of drift is greater in small populations
- allele frequencies change at random (may go up or down)
- leads to loss of genetic variation over time
- drift can sometimes lead to the fixation of harmful alleles
Population Bottleneck
reduction in size of an existing population
Founder Event
establishment of a new population of a smaller size, explains the frequency of diseases in many human populations
Gene Flow
transfer of alleles between populations due to the movement of individuals or their gametes
reduces differences in genotype between populations
Sexual Selection
a form of selection in which individuals with particular inherited characteristics are more likely than other individuals to acquire mates