Question

If it is true that humans, along with all other forms of life, have evolved from a common ancestor, what evidence of this would you expect to observe when comparing the genomes of humans, mice, and Palm Trees? Give three specific examples of things you would expect to find in these genomes that make sense in view of evolution but would not make sense otherwise.

Explain in depth please.

Answer 1

Plants and animals share many of the same genes. We use some of them in different ways. A good example of this, Eyes Absent (EYA) genes. These genes help flies build eyes, aid in human development, and contribute to plant embryogenesis. EYA was first described in fruit flies. Geneticists found that loss of the gene caused flies to develop without any eyes, hence the “Eyes Absent” name.

Since that time, there have been numerous versions of EYA described. Humans have four different versions, flies have just one, and plants have their own distinct version as well. Though the DNA coding for each of these versions is different, they’re similar enough that they’ve been collectively labeled as the EYA genes. EYA proteins are capable of doing some different processes within a cell. Their most well-known activity is to help regulate gene expression EYA proteins are considered transcriptional cofactors Specialized proteins are built by a cell whose sole purpose is to regulate the function of other proteins. It appears that EYA proteins may have first evolved to serve this purpose.

By comparing and contrasting the EYA genes in different organisms, scientists believe that an ancient ancestor of both plants and animals first developed EYA genes to help it regulate other proteins. Over time, as plants and animals evolved separately, EYA proteins gained the added ability to regulate genes as well.

Studies in mice suggest that EYA genes influence development of the lungs, kidneys, and brain and have an active role to play in DNA damage repair.

Research has shown us that EYA proteins in humans are able to regulate both genes and other proteins.People with variants in the EYA1 gene (one of the human versions of EYA) offer evidence that EYA proteins may also influence development of our ear and auditory senses These variants affect development of the ears, neck, and kidneys.

The study found the rat genome contains similar numbers of genes to the human and mouse genomes but at 2.75 gigabases (Gb) is smaller than human (2.9 Gb) and slightly larger than mouse (2.6 Gb). Almost all human genes known to be associated with diseases have counterparts in the rat genome and appear highly conserved through mammalian evolution.The rat data shows about 40 percent of the modern mammalian genome derives from the last common mammalian ancestor. These 'core' one billion bases encode nearly all the genes and their regulatory signals, accounting for the similarities among mammals.

Gene duplication in plants as well as in human is one type of genomic change that can lead to evolutionary novelties. Novel functions can arise from the co-option of existing genes.