1. EVALUATING EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATIONS THE SCHOOL NEWSPAPER HAS DECIDED TO INCLUDE A SPECIAL SECTION ON EVOLUTION AND MEDICINE. WE NEED TO HELP THE EDITOR. REVIEW AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY ANOTHER STUDENT. YOU ARE THE PEER REVIEWER. YOUR JOB IS TO IDENTIFY INCORRECT OR MISLEADING STATEMENTS, CORRECT THEM, AND EXPLAIN WHY THE CORRECTIONS ARE NECESSARY. MASTER 5.1 HTTPS://SCIENCE.EDUCATION.NIH.GOV/SUPPLEMENTS/NIH10/EVOLUTION/PDF/EM_MASTER_5-1.PDF HTTPS://SCIENCE.EDUCATION.NIH.GOV/SUPPLEMENTS/NIH10/EVOLUTION/PDF/EM_MASTER_5-1.PDF

2. CONCENTRATE ON THE AUTHOR’S EXPLANATIONS OF THE DATA RATHER THAN THE ACCURACY OF THE DATA. FOR EXAMPLE: L-GULONOLACTONE OXIDASE (GULO) IS ONE OF THE ENZYMES REQUIRED FOR VITAMIN C BIOSYNTHESIS. VITAMIN C IS NOT SYNTHESIZED IN HUMANS, OTHER PRIMATES, GUINEA PIGS, AND SOME BATS, AND THE GENE SEQUENCES AND THE EVOLUTIONARY TREE ARE SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE. AFTER YOU COMPLETE THE REVIEW, DISCUSS YOUR COMMENTS WITH THE OTHER GROUP MEMBERS IDENTIFY ONE THING THAT YOU FELT NEEDED TO BE CORRECTED AND HOW YOUR GROUP CHANGED IT.

3. ROLE OF EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES IN THE LOSS OF THE ABILITY OF MAKE VITAMIN C IS IT DUE TO NATURAL SELECTION? (VERY UNLIKELY) INDIVIDUALS WITH THE MUTATION THAT DISABLED THE GULO GENE WOULD HAVE AN ADVANTAGE IN SURVIVAL OR REPRODUCTION. IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT INDIVIDUALS THAT HAD MUTATIONS IN THE PAST THAT DISRUPTED THE GULO GENE WERE NOT AT A DISADVANTAGE FOR SURVIVAL OR REPRODUCTION, AND THE LOSS OF THE ABILITY TO MAKE VITAMIN C WAS DUE TO CHANCE. THERE ARE MANY MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT NATURAL SELECTION.

4. CREATE AN ILLUSTRATION THAT EXPLAINS THE PROCESS OF EVOLUTION CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: A. SELECTION FOR METHICILLIN-RESISTANCE IN STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (MRSA) B. SELECTION FOR LACTASE PERSISTENCE IN SOME HUMAN POPULATIONS C. SELECTION FOR ALLELES ASSOCIATED WITH ALPHA- THALASSEMIA IN SOME HUMAN POPULATIONS D. SELECTION AMONG INFLUENZA VIRUSES

5. YOUR ILLUSTRATION SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING FIVE MAJOR PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL SELECTION THROUGHOUT THIS CURRICULUM, WE HAVE FOCUSED ON FIVE PRINCIPLES RELATED TO NATURAL SELECTION. VARIATION: INDIVIDUALS WITHIN A POPULATION VARY FOR MANY TRAITS, INCLUDING PHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL TRAITS. INHERITANCE: SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES IN TRAITS AMONG INDIVIDUALS CAN BE PASSED FROM PARENTS TO OFFSPRING. (THEY ARE HERITABLE.) ORIGIN OF VARIATION: SOME OF THE VARIATION IN TRAITS AMONG INDIVIDUALS HAS A GENETIC BASIS. THIS VARIATION ORIGINATED, OFTEN MANY GENERATIONS AGO, AS MUTATIONS—CHANGES IN THE GENETIC INFORMATION THAT ARE RANDOM WITH RESPECT TO THE NEEDS OF THE ORGANISM. FITNESS: BOTH THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE TRAITS THAT INDIVIDUALS POSSESS AFFECT SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION. INDIVIDUALS WITH HERITABLE TRAITS THAT ENABLE THEM TO BETTER SURVIVE AND REPRODUCE IN A PARTICULAR ENVIRONMENT WILL LEAVE RELATIVELY MORE OFFSPRING. EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN POPULATIONS: THE FREQUENCY OF TRAITS AND THE ALLELES THAT AFFECT THOSE TRAITS CHANGE IN A POPULATION OVER TIME.

6. LETS SEE IF WE ARE ON THE SAME PAGE………..

7. EXAMPLE 1: SELECTION FOR METHICILLIN-RESISTANCE IN STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (MRSA) VARIATION. SOME INDIVIDUALS WITHIN A POPULATION OF S. AUREUS ARE ABLE TO LIVE IN THE PRESENCE OF METHICILLIN, WHEREAS OTHERS CANNOT. INHERITANCE. RESISTANCE TO METHICILLIN IN S. AUREUS IS CAUSED BY SPECIFIC ALLELES. THEREFORE, RESISTANCE CAN BE INHERITED. ORIGIN OF VARIATION. MUTATIONS OCCUR RANDOMLY. SOME MUTATIONS TO GENES ENABLE SOME INDIVIDUAL BACTERIA TO BECOME RESISTANT TO METHICILLIN. FITNESS. IN THE PRESENCE OF METHICILLIN, INDIVIDUAL BACTERIA THAT HAVE INHERITED THE ALLELES FOR METHICILLIN RESISTANCE WILL SURVIVE AND LEAVE RELATIVELY MORE OFFSPRING IN THE NEXT GENERATION. EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN POPULATIONS. THE FREQUENCY OF THE ALLELES THAT CAUSE RESISTANCE TO METHICILLIN INCREASES IN THE S. AUREUS POPULATION OVER TIME. AS A RESULT, THE FREQUENCY OF METHICILLIN RESISTANCE IN THE POPULATION ALSO INCREASES.

8. EXAMPLE 2: SELECTION FOR LACTASE PERSISTENCE IN SOME HUMAN POPULATIONS VARIATION. SOME INDIVIDUALS CAN DIGEST LACTOSE AS ADULTS, WHEREAS OTHERS CANNOT. INHERITANCE. LACTASE PERSISTENCE IN HUMANS IS CAUSED BY SPECIFIC MUTATIONS IN A DNA CONTROL REGION. THEREFORE, LACTASE PERSISTENCE OR LACTASE NONPERSISTENCE CAN BE INHERITED. ORIGIN OF VARIATION. LACTASE PERSISTENCE HAS A GENETIC BASIS. MUTATIONS OCCUR RANDOMLY. MUTATIONS TO A DNA CONTROL REGION ENABLE SOME INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE LACTASE AS ADULTS. FITNESS. IN CERTAIN CULTURAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXTS, INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE LACTASE PERSISTENT LEFT RELATIVELY MORE OFFSPRING. THE CULTURE-HISTORICAL HYPOTHESIS SAYS THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE LACTASE PERSISTENT HAD A SELECTIVE ADVANTAGE IN PASTORALIST POPULATIONS. THE CALCIUM ABSORPTION HYPOTHESIS SUGGESTS THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO DRANK MILK HAD A SELECTIVE ADVANTAGE IN AREAS WITH LOW AMOUNTS OF UV LIGHT. EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN POPULATIONS. THE FREQUENCY OF THE ALLELES THAT CAUSE LACTASE PERSISTENCE INCREASED IN SOME HUMAN POPULATIONS OVER TIME. AS A RESULT, THE FREQUENCY OF LACTASE PERSISTENCE IN THE POPULATION ALSO INCREASED.

9. EXAMPLE 3: SELECTION FOR GENES ASSOCIATED WITH ALPHA-THALASSEMIA IN SOME HUMAN POPULATIONS VARIATION. SOME INDIVIDUALS HAVE THE TRAITS ASSOCIATED WITH ALPHA-THALASSEMIA, WHEREAS OTHER INDIVIDUALS DO NOT HAVE ALPHA-THALASSEMIA. INHERITANCE. ALPHA-THALASSEMIA IN HUMANS IS CAUSED BY SPECIFIC ALLELES. THEREFORE, THE DISEASE CAN BE PASSED FROM PARENTS TO OFFSPRING. ORIGIN OF VARIATION. ALPHA-THALASSEMIA HAS A GENETIC BASIS. MUTATIONS OCCUR RANDOMLY. MUTATIONS TO A GENE CAUSE THE DISEASE. FITNESS. IN CERTAIN CULTURAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXTS, INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE ALPHA-THALASSEMIA HAD RELATIVELY HIGHER SURVIVAL RATES AND LEFT RELATIVELY MORE OFFSPRING. ALPHA-THALASSEMIA OFFERS SOME PROTECTION AGAINST MALARIA. IN AREAS WITH HIGH RATES OF MALARIA, INDIVIDUALS WITH ALPHA- THALASSEMIA HAVE A LOWER CHANCE OF DEVELOPING SEVERE MALARIAL ANEMIA OR DYING FROM MALARIA. EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN POPULATIONS. THE FREQUENCY OF THE ALLELES THAT CAUSE ALPHA-THALASSEMIA INCREASED IN SOME HUMAN POPULATIONS OVER TIME. AS A RESULT, THE FREQUENCY OF ALPHA-THALASSEMIA IN THE POPULATION ALSO INCREASED.

10. EXAMPLE 4: SELECTION WITHIN THE INFLUENZA VIRUS VARIATION. SOME INDIVIDUAL VIRUSES ARE ABLE TO AVOID RECOGNITION BY THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM, WHEREAS OTHER INDIVIDUAL VIRUSES ARE INITIALLY RECOGNIZED BY THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. INHERITANCE. THE HEMAGGLUTININ REGION IS CODED FOR BY A GENE IN INFLUENZA. THIS GENE CAN BE PASSED FROM ONE GENERATION OF VIRUSES TO THE NEXT. ORIGIN OF VARIATION. MUTATIONS OCCUR RANDOMLY WITHIN THE GENOME OF INFLUENZA VIRUSES. MUTATIONS TO A GENE THAT CODES FOR A PROTEIN THAT IS IMPORTANT FOR IMMUNE RECOGNITION ENABLE SOME INDIVIDUAL VIRUSES TO ESCAPE DETECTION. FITNESS. INDIVIDUAL INFLUENZA VIRUSES THAT AVOID INITIAL DETECTION BY THE IMMUNE SYSTEM ARE ABLE TO ENTER HUMAN CELLS AND PRODUCE RELATIVELY MORE OFFSPRING. EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN POPULATIONS. THE FREQUENCY OF THE ALLELES THAT ALLOW INFLUENZA VIRUSES TO AVOID INITIAL DETECTION BY THE IMMUNE SYSTEM INCREASES IN THE POPULATION OVER TIME. AS A RESULT, THE POPULATION OF INFLUENZA VIRUSES CHANGES RAPIDLY.

11. ALL DONE!!!