6 Responses to “Extreme Evolution”

1. Joe G Says:
   September 16th, 2005 at 6:14 pm

   Does anyone remember the song "2525" It predicts our devolution/ "reductive evolution" ala the organisms Mike discusses.

   But anyway- practical use- could we use this to (medically) predict a populations evolutionary path therefore allowing us to meet it head on, as well as driving it in that direction we (artificially via drugs) chose?

   2nd thought- What does this do to the notion the first life was "simple" IOW does the required specified complexity of the alleged first population(s) bolster the design inference?

   I would also like to point out that "evolution by subtraction" (reductive evolution) is also used to get insects from brine shrimp. IOW it isn't limited to single-celled populations.

   Can the process be reversed? Can we take the derived species and evolve another "higher class" species?

Comment by Joe G — September 16, 2005 @ 6:14 pm

2. Salvador T. Cordova Says:
   September 16th, 2005 at 9:39 pm

   Mike,

   Would Prion's be candidates as well?

   Sal

Comment by Salvador T. Cordova — September 16, 2005 @ 9:39 pm

3. MikeGene Says:
   September 17th, 2005 at 11:19 am

   Good question. Let me chew on it.

Comment by MikeGene — September 17, 2005 @ 11:19 am

4. MikeGene Says:
   September 17th, 2005 at 11:22 am

   Joe:
   

   Can the process be reversed? Can we take the derived species and evolve another "higher class" species?

   Another good question. It looks like a once a species has been caught in the currents of reductive evolution, it is very difiicult to escape.

Comment by MikeGene — September 17, 2005 @ 11:22 am

5. AdR Says:
   September 18th, 2005 at 8:25 am

   This would then allow us to predict that cell-level symbiotic relationships have the inherent potential to fall into flux of reductive evolution.

   Hi Mike, have you considered the possibility that the symbiotic relationships that we see now were actually the direct result of reductive evolution? Or that reductive evolution is a prerequisite for long-term symbiotic relationships.

   Say, for instance, that we start with an independent genome that is able to generate its own membrane. It could contain all the house-keeping genes, but also all the machinery to generate a lipid bilayer, and enzymes for energy metabolism. If you would now create a subset of the genome with the lipid-generating enzymes and the ATP-generating enzymes, but not the house-keeping genes, you could have created a sort of mitochondrium. If the 'host' would have lost the ATP generating enzymes in the process, it you would effectively have created a mutually obligatory symbiotic relationship.

   An early separation of the potentially harmful energy production functionality (free radicals, waste products etc.) could have been a prequisite for complex life.

Comment by AdR — September 18, 2005 @ 8:25 am

6. MikeGene Says:
   September 18th, 2005 at 11:47 pm

   AdR,

   Good point. Reductive evolution is what can lock two previously independent entities into one. And since it's easier to lose than to gain, the relationship becomes long-term.

Comment by MikeGene — September 18, 2005 @ 11:47 pm

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