Assignment 2: Discussion—Natural Selection The concept of evolution by natural s
ID: 117139 • Letter: A
Question
Assignment 2: Discussion—Natural Selection
The concept of evolution by natural selection was one that took a long time to be accepted. Although evolution by natural selection, as a theory, has stood up to both observation and experimentation many times, some aspects of it are still challenged to this day.
Through the readings in this module, you learned that natural selection is the process through which the evolution of species occurs. When this theory was proposed by Charles Darwin, little was known about genetics. Today, the process of natural selection has been verified at the genetic level. What Darwin, as well as others, did was show that the only constant in the universe is change.
Do you think that natural selection is a random or chance process? Give reasons to support your answer.
Why are mutations in species important to the process of natural selection?
Do you think that mutations are a necessary evolutionary mechanism for the survival of species? Give reasons to support your answer.
Explanation / Answer
natural selection is a random or chance process:
natural selection is not a random process.the genetic variation on which natural selection acts may occur randomly,but natural selection itself is not random at all.the survival and reproductive success of an individual is directly related to the ways it's inherited traits function in the context of its local environment.
mutations in species important to the process of natural selection:
because they create the novel variations which are selected for or against.
genetic mutations cause variations that can ensure the survival of a species.for example,more and more we are seeing bacteria becoming resilient to antibiotics.this is bacause somewhere along the line,a single bacteria had a genetic mutation that made it immune to the effects of the medication.when this single bacteria reproduced,it passed this trait to the next generation.because this new generation had the medicine-resistant-trait,it too could servive being subjected to the antibiotics and reproduce again passing along the genetic mutation.as other bacteria that didnot possess the mutation were dying out as a result of the antibiotic,the ones with the mutation were living on and reproducing.eventually there would be no more of the non-mutant bacteria.
mutations are a necessary evolutionary mechanism for the survival of species:
yes,mutations are a necessary evolutionary mechanism for the survival of species.
random mutation cause changes in the genome of an individual organism and mutation can be passed to offspring.genetic variation arises in the first place by mutation and sexual reproduction.natural population of bacteria contain,among their vast number of individual members,considerable variation in their genetic material,primarily as the result of mutation.when exposed to antibiotics most bacteria die quickly.if a new mutation reduces their susceptibility to an antibiotic,these individuals are more likely to survive.
recent research suggests that many mutations in non-coding DNA do have slight deleterious effect.