Here’s this snippet from a Phys.Org entry.
The most remarkable part of it is that they link “cell-type” evolution to the repression of genes, making one wonder if all the necessary genes needed for all of life was somehow present in an original genome.
Obviously there are problems with this thesis in terms of genome length and type, bacterial genomes being ciruclar, while animals generally have discrete chromosomes, but, it’s entirely possible that multi-cellular life represents a complete break with bacteria, and that what we’re seeing here is the ultimate in “front-loading,” where everything is in place, yet, per Behe’s first law of adaptation, we see “loss of function” leading to novelties.
And, it should be a little troubling, if not greatly troubling, to Darwinists, since we don’t see differing cell-types being produced by the onset of new genes, but, rather, what they generally see in the study is, as I already mentioned, a ‘turning-off’ of genes as different cell-types emerge.
Just another, almost daily, contradiction of Darwinian expectations.
KLF/SP genes belong to an important class of genes, called transcription factors, which either turn on or turn off the expression of other genes. The findings show a clear increase in repressor domains (domains that turn off the expression of other genes) as the KLF/SP gene family has expanded. This expansion mirrors increases in cell type diversity among animals and demonstrates that the transition from single-cell life to multicellular life occurred largely by “tinkering” with existing genes.
“This is interesting because it supports the idea that the appearance of new types of cells in a lineage of organisms as they evolve may be, more commonly, a consequence of turning off genes in unique temporal and spatial combinations,” Browne said. “Large numbers of unique cell types are required to support the development of complex tissues and organs.”
For the study, the researchers looked at 48 different genomes ranging from plants; single celled organisms including slime molds, fungi, and choanoflagellates; early branching multicellular animals including ctenophores, sponges, and jellyfish; invertebrates including insects and sea urchins; to vertebrates such as sharks, fish, and mammals including humans.
Too bad they don’t have a link to the study.