Woese and physicist Nigel Goldenfeld argue that, even in its sophisticated modern form, Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection applies only to a recent phase of life on Earth. Woese and Goldenfeld believe that horizontal evolution led to the rise of the genetic code itself.
"At the root of this idea is overwhelming recent evidence for horizontal gene transfer — in which organisms acquire genetic material 'horizontally' from other organisms around them, rather than vertically from their parents or ancestors. The donor organisms may not even be the same species. This mechanism is already known to play a huge role in the evolution of microbial genomes, but its consequences have hardly been explored. According to Woese and Goldenfeld, they are profound, and horizontal gene transfer alters the evolutionary process itself."
http://bit.ly/9YKf0v
"At the root of this idea is overwhelming recent evidence for horizontal gene transfer — in which organisms acquire genetic material 'horizontally' from other organisms around them, rather than vertically from their parents or ancestors. The donor organisms may not even be the same species. This mechanism is already known to play a huge role in the evolution of microbial genomes, but its consequences have hardly been explored. According to Woese and Goldenfeld, they are profound, and horizontal gene transfer alters the evolutionary process itself."
http://bit.ly/9YKf0v
Vastaukset 2
Vanhimmat
Tämä on vanha juttu. Jo vuosia sitten SciAmissa oli asiaa käsittelevä artikkeli, jossa käsiteltiin horisontaalista DNAn siirtymistä elämän "alkumetreillä", eikä tuolla jutulla ole mitään tekemistä nykyisten eliölajien (virukset poisluettuna) kanssa.
että nuo tutkijat onnistuivat matemaattisesti mallintamaan tuon jo tiedossa olleen evoluution mekanismin. Esim. nämä tutkijat laskivat myös muutama vuosi sitten lähes vuoden kestäneillä supertietokonelaskuilla biodiversiteetin kehittymisen vaativan myös horisontaalisia geeninsiirtoja modulaarisen genomin lisäksi jatkuvasti vaihtelevissa ympäristöissä:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071113132255.htm