Epigenetics may explain how Darwin’s finches respond to environment
| August 28, 2017 | Posted by News under Darwinism, Epigenetics, Intelligent Design |
two varieties of finch studied/McNew et al., BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2017
From ScienceDaily:
Epigenetics may explain how Darwin’s finches respond to rapid environmental changes, according to new research published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.
By studying rural and urban populations of two species of Darwin’s finches on the Galapagos Islands, researchers were able to show that while there was very little genetic variation, there were substantial epigenetic differences that could be related to environmental differences resulting from urbanization.
Sabrina McNew, PhD student at the University of Utah and lead author of the study said: “Urbanization of the Galapagos has happened relatively recently, so this is a good opportunity to study how animals respond to rapid environmental change.”
…
Genetic analysis of the birds revealed very little differences in genetic make-up between the rural and urban populations of both species. Analysis of DNA methylation patterns revealed significant differences between urban and rural populations for both species.
This study compared just two populations of finches so it cannot be said with certainty that urbanization is the key influencer of epigenetics or morphology. However the results are consistent with a potential role of epigenetic variation in rapid adaptation to changing environments. Future studies are needed to determine what direct effects DNA methylation has on physical traits, and to what extent these methylation patterns may play a role in evolution. Paper. (public access) – Sabrina M. McNew, Daniel Beck, Ingrid Sadler-Riggleman, Sarah A. Knutie, Jennifer A. H. Koop, Dale H. Clayton, Michael K. Skinner. Epigenetic variation between urban and rural populations of Darwin’s finches. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2017; 17 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-1025-9 More.
Between epigenetics and hybridization among closely related species, it is beginning to look as though Darwin’s finches, like Hollywood jeanswear, are marketed to the public mainly on branding.
Note: Darwinians will sometimes claim that Darwin’s finches demonstrate natural selection hard at work. But they are relying on public confusion. Natural selection can mean two different things. It can mean merely what Lynn Margulis said in an interview with Suzan Mazur, that not all life forms that come into existence can live. Only the traits of survivors can be passed on in some form. No one doubts that.
The second meaning is the Darwinian claim that the process of natural selection as above, acting on random mutations, creates large amounts of complex specified information by itself, turning cows into whales, etc. There is little evidence that big changes happen so simply.
And if the famed Darwin’s finches turn out to reflect the ceaseless back and forth flow of genetic information via epigenetics, hybridization, etc.—which results in an ongoing finch population of some type in the Galapagos—the finches are just another branded Darwin canard marketed to the public. They deserve better.
See also: New book: Evolution happens more quickly than we think
Darwin’s finches not a good example of Darwinian evolution
and
Epigenetic change: Lamarck, wake up, you’re wanted in the conference room!
The classic tale retold:
26 Responses to Epigenetics may explain how Darwin’s finches respond to environment
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Exuberantly obscene extrapolation from the embedded variability framework (EVF) operating within the biological systems? At the end of the day birds remain birds, antibiotic resistant bacteria remain bacteria, amphibians remain amphibians, apes remain apes, humans remain humans,
Where’s the beef?
They have to present real cases that satisfy the fundamental evo-devo formulation:
Dev(d) = Dev(a) + Delta(a,d)
wd400:
Are you paying attention? Remember some of my remarks?
Obviously evolution can happen far quicker than Darwin, and biologists for 100 years after Darwin, ever thought possible.
And natural selection must be responsible.
Random mutation is something that the organism experiments or suffers.
An adaptive variation driven by epigenetic marks on the genome, in response to changes in the environment, is something that the organism “does”. The organism is the agent, not the victim of the variation. The cause is not pure chance, the cause of the variation is the inherent teleology of the living being.Nothing to do with standard darwinian evolutionary theory.Just the opposite.
Evolution depends on changes in the genomes. Since epigenetic changes allow adaptation without change of the genome they will work to prevent evolution.
Darwinian evolution is indistinguishable from magic. It’s a magical “just so” origins story for a/mats.
Epigenetics?
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jacs.5b04086
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antoni_Luque/publication/303846274_Correlation_among_DNA_Linker_Length_Linker_Histone_Concentration_and_Histone_Tails_in_Chromatin/links/5760828208aeeada5bc3061c/Correlation-among-DNA-Linker-Length-Linker-Histone-Concentration-and-Histone-Tails-in-Chromatin.pdf
Eukaryotic cells condense their genetic material in the nucleus in the form of chromatin, a macromolecular complex made of DNA and multiple proteins. The structure of chromatin is intimately connected to the regulation of all eukaryotic organisms, from amoebas to humans, but its organization remains largely unknown.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antoni_Luque/publication/303846274_Correlation_among_DNA_Linker_Length_Linker_Histone_Concentration_and_Histone_Tails_in_Chromatin/links/5760828208aeeada5bc3061c/Correlation-among-DNA-Linker-Length-Linker-Histone-Concentration-and-Histone-Tails-in-Chromatin.pdf
While much is known about DNA structure on the basepair level, this scale represents only a fraction of the structural levels involved in folding the genomic material.
http://www.cell.com/biophysj/p.....0034-6.pdf
Cells sense physical and chemical signals from their local microenvironment and transduce them to the nucleus to regulate genomic programs.
http://www.cell.com/trends/cel.....17)30104-6
Cell geometry is tightly coupled to gene expression patterns within the tissue microenvironment. This perspective synthesizes evidence that the 3d organization of chromosomes is a critical intermediate for geometric control of genomic programs.
Cells seamlessly transition through the epigenetic landscape during differentiation and trans-differentiation programs in our body.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi.....ccess=true
Note that the comment @1 refers to the macroevolutionary fairytale that was mistakenly associated with the Galapagos finch variations.
If one carefully analyzes the discoveries reported in the latest biology research papers, this obvious conclusion comes to mind:
They ain’t seen nothin’ yet
🙂
We must encourage the young generations to be sharp discerners, always testing everything and holding only what is good.
But first they’ll have to know what’s good.
There’s only one true source of wisdom required to be a sharp discerner.
Run to it!
Dionisio @ 7-13: Amazing comments. Thank you.
A history of hybrids? Genomic patterns of introgression in the True Geese
Jente Ottenburghs,
Hendrik-Jan Megens,
Robert H. S. Kraus,
Pim van Hooft,
Sipke E. van Wieren,
Richard P. M. A. Crooijmans,
Ronald C. Ydenberg,
Martien A. M. Groenen and
Herbert H. T. Prins
BMC Evolutionary Biology
2017 17:201
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1048-2
https://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-017-1048-2
https://rd.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2Fs12862-017-1048-2.pdf
Researchers: Darwin’s finches not typical example of evolution at all
https://uncommondescent.com/evolution/researchers-darwins-finches-not-typical-example-of-evolution-at-all/
Epigenetic variation between urban and rural populations of Darwin’s finches
Sabrina M. McNew,
Daniel Beck,
Ingrid Sadler-Riggleman,
Sarah A. Knutie,
Jennifer A. H. Koop,
Dale H. Clayton and
Michael K. Skinners
BMC Evolutionary Biology
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1025-9
https://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-017-1025-9
Interpreting the genomic landscape of speciation: a road map for finding barriers to gene flow
M. Ravinet, R. Faria, R. K. Butlin, J. Galindo, N. Bierne, M. Rafajlovi?, M. A. F. Noor, B. Mehlig, A. M. Westram
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13047
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.....13047/full
“was newly formed”?
“secondarily acquired”?
Huh?
Where’s the beef?
Complex functionally specified informational complexity.
Where’s the beef?
Complex functionally specified informational complexity.
Work in progress… stay tuned.
Complex functionally specified informational complexity.
Does this have to do with microevolution?
Complex functionally specified informational complexity.
Complex functionally specified informational complexity.
Complex functionally specified informational complexity.
Complex functionally specified informational complexity.