Abstract
DNA sequence data enjoys the singular position of being the arbiter of phylogenetic relationships; yet the justifications for this endeavor—the notions of continual molecular change, and that the degree of overall similarity reflects recency of divergence from a common, constantly changing ancestral sequence—was based on studies of bacteria not multicellular organisms. This is important because ca. 98% of a bacterial genome codes for metabolically active proteins, while a similar proportion in the metazoan genome is dedicated to the regulation of development. Consequently, random mutation in the metazoan genome would likely lead to organismal failure, not survival, which suggests that sequence similarity in this region reflects primitive retention (= nonchange). Further, since metazoan mtDNA and the ca. 2% coding region are involved in metabolic processes, demonstration of taxic similarity in these nucleotide sequences is likely to reflect similar physiological adaptation, not evolutionary history.
Resume
Les données génétiques moléculaires bénéficient d’une singulière place d’arbitre des relations phylogénétiques ; et pourtant la justification de cette ambition—la notion de changement moléculaire continu, et celle selon laquelle le degré de similarité reflète l’ancienneté de la divergence d’une séquence ancestrale qui change continuellement—se fonde sur l’étude des bactéries, et non celle des organismes multicellulaires. Ce fait est important parce que 98% du génome bactérien code pour des protéines métaboliquement actives, alors que dans le génome des Métazoaires, une proportion similaire est dédiée à la régulation du développement. Ainsi, chez les Métazoaires, les mutations sont le plus souvent fatales, se qui suggère que les séquences similaires reflètent des rétentions primitives, et non des changements. De plus, puisque l’ADN mitochondrial et 2% de l’ADN nucléaire sont impliqués dans le métabolisme, les séquences de nucléotides similaires reflètent des adaptations physiologiques, plutôt que l’histoire évolutive.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Davidson EH, Erwin DH (2006) Gene regulatory networks and the evolution of animal body plans. Science 311:796–800
Duboule D, Dollé P (1989) The structural and functional organization of the murine HOX gene family resembles that of Drosophila homeotic genes. EMBO J 8:1497–1505
Eisen JA (2000) Assessing evolutionary relationships among microbes from whole-genome analysis. Curr Opin Microbiol 3:475–480
Eldredge N, Cracraft J (1980) Phylogenetic patterns and the evolutionary process: method and theory in comparative biology. Columbia University Press, New York
Friedman M (2008) The evolutionary origin of flatfish asymmetry. Nature 454:209–212
Gerhart J, Kirschner M (1997) Cells, embryos, and evolution: toward a cellular and developmental understanding of phenotypic variation and evolutionary adaptability. Blackwell, Malden, MA
Goff SA et al (2002) A draft sequence of the rice genome (Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica). Science 296:92–100
Goldschmidt RB (1940) The material basis of evolution. Yale University Press, New Haven
Hennig W (1966) Phylogenetic systematics. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Hulsey CD, Fraser GJ, Streelman JT (2006) Evolution and development of complex biomechanical systems: 300 million years of fish jaws. Zebrafish 2:243–257
Jacob F, Monod J (1959) Genes of structure and genes of regulation in the biosynthesis of proteins. C R Hebd Seances Acad Sci 249:1282–1284
Kitts DB (1977) Genes of structure and genes of regulation in the biosynthesis of proteins. Syst Zool 26:185–194
Lenski RE, Travisano M (1994) Dynamics of adaptation and diversification: a 10,000-generation of experiment with bacterial populations. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91:6808–6814
Lolle SJ, Victor JL, Young JM, Pruitt RE (2005) Genome-wide non-Mendelian inheritance of extra-genomic information in Arabidopsis. Nature 434:505–509
Maresca B, Schwartz JH (2006) Sudden origins: a general mechanism of evolution based on stress protein concentration and rapid environmental change. Anat Rec B New Anat 2898:38–46
Nuttall GHF (1904) Blood immunity and blood relationship. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Popper KR (1962) Conjectures and refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London
Popper KR (1968) The logic of scientific discovery. Harper Torchbooks, New York
Rassoulzadegan M, Grandjean V, Gounon P, Vincent S, Gillot I, Cuzin F (2006) RNA-mediated non-Mendelian inheritance of an epigenetic change in the mouse. Nature 441:469–474
Ronshaugen M, McGinnis N, McGinnis SW (2002) Hox protein mutation and macroevolution of the insect body plan. Nature 415:914–917
Schindewolf O (1993) Basic questions in paleontology: geologic time, organic evolution, and biological systematics (trans: Schaefer J). University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Schwartz JH (2005) The Red Ape: Orangutans and Human Origins. Westview Press, Boulder, CO
Schwartz JH (2008) Cladistics. In: Regal B (ed) Icons of evolution. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, pp 517–544
Schwartz JH, Maresca B (2006) Do molecular clocks run at all? A critique of molecular systematics. Biol Theory 1:1–15
Stern CD, Charité J, Deschamps J, Duboule D, Durston AJ, Kmita M, Nicolas J-F, Palmeirem I, Smith JC, Wolpert L (2006) Head-tail patterning of the vertebrate embryo: one, two or many unresolved problems? Int J Dev Biol 50:3–15
Stotz K (2006) With ‘genes’ like that, who needs an environment? Postgenomics’s argument for the ‘Ontogeny of Information’. Philos Sci 73:905–917
Waddington CH (1940) Organisers and genes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Wiley EO (1975) Karl R. Popper, systematics, and classification: a reply to Walter Bock and other evolutionary taxonomists. Syst Zool 24:233–243
Zuckerkandl E, Pauling L (1962) Molecular disease, evolution, and genic heterogeneity. In: Kasha M, Pullman B (eds) Horizons in biochemistry. Academic, New York, pp 189–225
Acknowledgments
I thank Judith Masters for the opportunity to share these views, Bruno Maresca for inspiring me toward them, and two reviewers for offering suggestions for their clarification.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schwartz, J.H. (2012). Organismal Biology, Molecular Systematics, and Phylogenetic Reconstruction. In: Masters, J., Gamba, M., Génin, F. (eds) Leaping Ahead. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4511-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4511-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4510-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4511-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)