Evolution

Theories to explain origin of life {origin of life-biopoiesis}

Theory of special creation

Theory of spontaneous generation

Theory of panspermia

Theory of eternity of life

Theory of catastrophism

Oparin-Haldane theory

Steps in Biological Evolution

Evolution of Modes of Nutrition

Isolation of Organic Molecules

Origin of Prokaryotes

Evolution of Modes of Nutrition

Formation of ozone

Origin of Eukaryotes

Conditions for the Origin of Life

➢ There must have been a continuous supply of self replicators.

➢ Copying of these replicators must have been subject to error through mutation.

➢ High temperature in early earth would have fulfilled the requirement of mutation.

➢ System of replicators must have required a continuous supply of free energy and partial
isolation from the general environment.

Isolation of Organic Molecules

 Coacervates

 Microsphere

Isolation of Organic Molecules

➢ Two hypotheses are proposed for the formation of prebionts.

➢ These led to the formation of the first living cells from which the more complex cells
evolved.

Coacervates

➢ The first hypothesis was proposed by Oparin.

➢ According to this hypothesis early prebionts could have been coacervates.

➢ Oparin gave the term coacervates.

➢ He speculated that a prebiont consisted carbohydrates and proteins.

➢ These were surrounded by a film of water molecules.

➢ This arrangement of water molecules could have functioned as a physical barrier between
the organic molecules and their surroundings.

➢ They could selectively take in materials from their surroundings and incorporate them into
their structure.

➢ These have been synthesized in the laboratory.

➢ Because they lack a definite membrane, no one claims coacervates are alive.

➢ They have the ability to increase in size.

Microspheres

➢ An another hypothesis is that early protocell could have been a microsphere. ➢ A

microsphere is a nonliving collection of organic macromolecules with double layered outer
boundary.

➢ The term microsphere was given by Sidney W. Fox.

➢ Sidney Fox demonstrated the ability to build microspheres from proteinoids.

➢ Proteinoids are protein like structures consisting of branched chains of amino acids.

➢ Proteinoids are formed by the dehydration synthesis of amino acids at a temperature of

180°C.

➢ Fox observed small spherical cell-like units that had arisen from aggregations of
proteinoids.

➢ These molecular aggregates were called proteinoid microspheres.

➢ The first non-cellular forms of life could have originated 3 billion years back.

➢ They would have been giant molecules (RNA, Proteins, Polysaccharides etc).

➢ Microspheres swell or shrink depending on the osmotic potential in the surrounding

solution.

➢ Using ATP as a source of energy, microspheres can direct the formation of polypeptides and
nucleic acids.
➢ They have the ability of motility, growth, binary fission into two particles and a capacity of
reproduction by budding and fragmentation.

➢ Superficially, their budding resembles with those of bacteria and fungi.

➢ According to some investigators, microspheres can be considered first living cells.

Origin of Prokaryotes
➢ Prokaryotes originated from protocells about 3.5 billion years ago in the sea.

➢ Atmosphere was anaerobic because free oxygen was absent in the atmosphere.

➢ Prokaryotes do not have nuclear membrane, cytoskeleton or complex organelles.

➢ These divide by binary fission.

➢ Some of the oldest known fossil cells appear as parts of stromatolites.

➢ Stromatolites are found today from sediments and photosynthetic prokaryotes (mainly
filamentous cyanobacteria— blue green algae).

Evolution of Modes of Nutrition

 Heterotrophs

 Autotrophs

Heterotrophs
➢ The earliest prokaryotes obtain energy by the fermentation of organic molecules from the
sea broth in oxygen free atmosphere (reducing atmosphere).

➢ They required readymade organic material as food and thus they were heterotrophs.

Autotrophs
➢ Due to rapid increase in the number of heterotrophs the nutrient from sea water began to
disappear and gradually exhausted.

➢ This led to the evolution of autotrophs.

➢ These organisms were capable of producing their own organic molecules by

chemosynthesis or photosynthesis.

 Chemoautotrophs

➢ Drop in temperature stopped synthesis of organic molecules in the sea water.

➢ Some of the early prokaryotes got converted into chemoautotrophs which prepared organic
food by using energy released during certain inorganic chemical reactions.

➢ These anaerobic chemoautotrophs were like present anaerobic bacteria.

➢ They released CO2 in the atmosphere.

 Photoautotrophs

➢ Evolution of chlorophyll molecule enabled certain protocells to utilize light energy and
synthesize carbohydrates.

➢ These were anaerobic photoautotrophs.

➢ They did not use water as a hydrogen source.

➢ They were similar to present day sulphur bacteria in which hydrogen sulphide split into
hydrogen and sulphur.

➢ Hydrogen was used in food manufacture and sulphur was released as a waste product.

 Aerobic photoautotrophs

➢ These used water as a source of hydrogen and carbon dioxide as source of carbon to
synthesize carbohydrate in the presence of solar energy.

➢ The first aerobic photoautotrophs were cyanobacteria (blue green algae) like forms which
had chlorophyll.

➢ They released oxygen in the atmosphere as the by product of photosynthesis.

Oxygen Revolution
➢ As the number of photoautotrophs increased, oxygen was released in the sea and
atmosphere.

➢ Free oxygen then reacted with methane and ammonia and transformed methane and
ammonia into carbon dioxide and free nitrogen.

➢ Oxygen releasing prokaryotes first appeared at least 2.5 billion years ago.

Formation of Ozone Layer

➢ As oxygen accumulated in atmosphere, the ultraviolet light changed some of oxygen into
ozone.

➢ The ozone formed a layer in the atmosphere, blocking the ultraviolet light and leaving the
visible light as main source of energy.

➢ The first cellular form of life did not possibly originate till about 200 million years ago.

➢ These were probably single cells.

Origin of Eukaryotes
➢ These developed from primitive prokaryotic cells about 1.5 billion years ago.
➢ There are two views regarding the origin of eukaryotes.

Symbiotic Origin
➢ According to Margulis of Boston University, some anaerobic predator host cells engulfed
primitive aerobic bacteria but did not digest them.

➢ These established themselves inside the host cells as symbionts.

➢ Such predator host cells became the first eukaryotic cells.

➢ Predator host cells that engulfed aerobic bacteria evolved into animal cells while those that
captured both aerobic bacteria and blue-green algae became eukaryotic plant cells.

➢ The aerobic bacteria established themselves as mitochondria and blue green algae as
chloroplasts.

Origin by Invagination
➢ According to this view cell organelles of eukaryotic cells might have originated by
invagination of surface membrane of primitive prokaryotic cells.

Origin of Multicellular Organisms

➢ Once unicellular organisms were developed the cells could gather to form colonies.

➢ Later cell differentiation occurred to form the multicellular organisms.

➢ These gave rise to all the different forms of life by gradual modification over the ages.

Life on Other Planets

➢ It is obvious that ‘life’ could have originated upon other planets and stars having conditions
approximately similar to those of the primitive earth.

➢ Of the planets, only Mars, is supposed to have conditions suitable for sustaining life.