Presented by:

Mr. Srikanth A. V M.Sc., M.Phil.,

Lecturer in biology,
Sri Aurobindo PU (Ind) College,
Javalli, Shimoga
 Beginning of Life
 Our Planet Earth is believed to have
originated about 4.6 billion years ago.
 The early life on earth is dated back to 3.5
billion years.
 None of the earliest known life forms exist
today.
 With the concept of evolution, man
becomes a part of nature, a relative of all
living beings and a product of grand
natural process extending back to the
dawn of the universe itself.
Origin of life: Important theories
Theory of special creation
Cosmozoic theory or Panspermia
theory
Theory of Abiogensis
Theory of Biogensis
Theory of Chemical Evolution
Theory of Special Creation
This is the oldest of all theories
All living beings on this earth were
originally created by God or
supernatural power
Supported by world’s major religions
and civilizations
Science can neither prove nor disprove
the theory
Biblical account
 According to Spanish monk Father
Suarez, creation of the earth by God is as
follows
 1st Day- Created heaven and earth
 2nd Day- Separated sky and water
 3rd Day- Made dry lands and plants
 4th Day- Made sun, moon and stars
 5th Day- Created birds and fishes
 6th Day- Created land animals and man
 Cosmozoic theory or
Panspermia theory
 Put forth by Richter in 1865
 Life on earth has come from a distant
planet in the form of spores or
microbes called cosmozoa or
panspermia
 These were believed to preserved in
meteorites and released to earth when
they struck the earth’s surface
 Failed to prove the existence of life on
distant planet
 Theory of Abiogenesis or
Spontaneous generation
 Put forth by Greek Philosophers in 600 BC
 Life originated from non-living material
spontaneously and continuously.
 Air, water, fire and earth have active
principles or vital force to transform lifeless
matter into living things.
 This view was held by scientists like
Aristotle, Epicurus, Thales, Helmont, Newton,
Decartes, etc.
 Aristotle
Father of Biology
Active principle existed in
all forms of life
Active principle present in
fertilized egg transforms it
into an adult organism
Children received active
principles form their
parents.
Sunlight, mud and
decaying meat also had
the active principle.
 Some beliefs of Abiogenesis
 Dirtyshirt and wheat grains put together in a
dark cupboard produces mice in 21 days.
(Van Helmont)
 Frogs and snakes arise from mud
spontaneously.
 Horsehair falling into water develop into
worms.
 A leaf falling into river would develop into
wings and gradually transform into a duck
 A dead calf buried would give rise to a swarm
of bees.
 Theory of Biogenesis
Put forth by Francisco Redi in
1688 and supported by
Spallanzani and Louis Pasteur.
Life originates from pre-existing
life by reproduction
Spallanzani and Louis Pasteur’s
experiment.
Theory of Chemical Evolution
 Put forth by Alexander. I. Oparin in 1924 who
published his ideas in book entitled “The Origin Of
Life”.
 J.B.S. Haldane supported it and therefore theory is
also known as Oparin-Haldane theory
 Life originated from non-living matter i.e.,
abiogenetically from inorganic substances.
 The theory explains evolutionary sequence from
inorganic compounds to organic compounds, to
macro molecules and primitive cell forms.
Alexander. I. Oparin
 1. Origin of Earth
 According to nebular theory or Bigbang theory of
Immanuel in 1755, our solar system originated about 5
billion years ago from a rotating cloud of gas called
nebulous.
 It exploded into several hot pieces called nebulae.
Earth is one such piece of the nebulae.
 It was very hot an had elements like Iron, Nickel,
Aluminium, Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen.
 As it cooled, these elements condensed to form core,
crust and atmosphere of the earth
 Earth, at that time (4.6 billion years ago) was lifeless
and inhospitable.
 2. Pre-biotic environment of the Earth
 Prebiotic earth had a reducing atmosphere due
to absence of molecular oxygen and the present
day one is oxidizing one.
 Cooling changed it from gaseous to liquid and
then from a liquid to the solid.
 The change from liquid to solid is not yet
complete and the earth’s core is still in molten
condition.
 When the temperature fell below 100oC, water
vapors gradually condensed into liquid which
resulted in heavy rains
 Primitive earth was a volcanic mass with heavy
lightning, radiating heat from the centre of the
earth, high energy UV radiation from the sun and
heat from radio active decay
 Formation of Earth’s
crust

 Rock containing
various inorganic
salts and minerals
 3. Formation of monomers
 It was the first step towards origin of life and
probably Methane played an important role.
 In a pre biotic environment, simple inorganic
molecules reacted to form simple organic
compounds especially in the oceans.
 CH4+H2O→sugars, fatty acids, glycerol

 CH4+H2O+NH3→amino acids
 CH4+H2O+NH3+HCN→nitrogenous bases
 Haldane described the oceans containing this
sterile mixture of simple monomers as “the hot
dilute soup” or “the primitive broth”.
 4. Formation of Polymers
 The monomers collided, reacted and aggregated
to form new complex molecules like
polysaccharides, fats, proteins, nucleosides and
nucleotides.
 This is said to be a ‘landmark in the origin of
life’
 A borderline stage between living and non-living
was reached by the union of nucleic acids and
proteins to form nucleoproteins.
 Sugars+sugars→polysaccharides
 Fatty acids+Glycerol→lipids
 Amino acids+amino acids→proteins
 Nucleotides+nucleotides→nucleic acids
 5. Formation of coacervates
 In some protected places, the
macromolecules aggregated as micro
droplets inside a protective water repellent
protein covering to from coacervates. The
formation of coacervates is known as
coacervation
 Sydney Fox called them as microspheres.
 Deamer and Hargreaves called them as
liposomes.
 6. Formation of pre cells (Ebionts)
 The nucleic acids acquired self replicating ability.
These along with other inorganic and organic
substances gave rise to the first form of life
called as ‘protobionts’ or ‘precells’.
 These were prokaryotic type with lipid
membrane bound units with enzyme controlled
mechanism nucleic acid regulation without
organized nucleus.
 They were heterotrophic anaerobes and were
getting their requirement from surrounding
organic contents
 Coacervates theory of Oparin
 It
was put forth by A.I.Oparin in 1938.
 According to this theory
The formation of membrane bound macromolecules into
coacervates is known as coacervation.
Coacervates were held together in the surrounding liquid
had a separation between them
The surface of these had the ability to selectively absorb
substances from the medium
Even though they were non-living, they showed certain
structural and functional properties of living organisms.
 Main steps in origin of life
according to Oparin theory
 Free atoms - H, C, O and N
↓
 Inorganic molecules
+ - H2, H2O, CH4, NH3, CO2, HCN
Organic molecules
↓
 Simple organic compounds- fatty acids, gylcerol, ADP
↓ amino acids, ATP
 Complex organic compounds- polysaccharides, fats,
↓ proteins, nucleic acids
 Coacervates - colloidal droplets of organic
↓ molecules
 Precells or Protobionts- the primitive life forms.
 Microsphere theory of Sydney Fox
 Itwas put forth by Dr.Sydney Fox in 1959.
 In his experiment, he simulated the prebiotic
conditions.
 He heated the amino acids which polymerized
into a protein like droplet known as protenoids.
 These protenoids aggregated into colloidal
droplets known as microspheres.
 These resembled the bacteria and were uniform
in shape and size and were stable for a long
period.
 The membrane of these had osmotic property
 Some of them had the capacity to multiply on
their own by fission and fragmentation
 7. From pre cells to cells
Pre cells or protobionts gradually
acquired other properties of life and got
differentiated into cells.
Nucleic acids also started to direct a
series of chemical reactions including
protein synthesis.
First form of life originated after a long
process of molecular evolution
Thus chemical evolution gave rise to
biological evolution
8. Initiation of Biological Evolution
The first primitive living organisms were
heterotrophs which obtained energy by
fermentation of organic substances
Mutation acted upon these and formation
of chlorophyll was the favourable change.
These mutants became autotrophs.
Then reducing environment gradually
changed to oxidizing one
It lead to the formation of ozone layer and
reduced UV rays reaching the earth which
provided stability for the progressive forms
of life
 Primitive earth
Atoms in free state
Inorganic molecules
Simple organic molecules
Macromolecules
Coacervates
Protocell
Anaerobic heterotrophs
Aerobic autotrophs
Stanley Millers Experiment
 Worked out by
Stanley L.Miller in the
laboratory of Harold
C. Urey at the
university of Chicago
 It is also known as
Urey-Miller
experiment or Spark
discharge experiment
 It is a simulation of
prebiotic conditions to
find out the possibility
of getting organic
compounds
Spark discharge apparatus
Methane, ammonia and
hydrogen in 1:2:2 ratio
Partially filled with water and
heated
Exposed to electrical
discharge for several days
Passed through a condenser
and the content was
analyzed
It showed the presence of
amino acids, hydrogen
cyanide, fatty acid, urea, etc.
 Introduction
 The term was coined by Herbert Spencer
 Evolution is defined as ‘ origin of new
forms of life from pre existing life by
undergoing slow and gradual changes’
 Gradual orderly change occurring in non-
living world is known as inorganic
evolution
 Such a change in relation to plants and
animals is known as organic evolution
 Theories of Organic Evolution
 Lamarckism
 Proposed by Baptiste
de Lamarck in 1809
 Published in his book
“ philosophic
zoologique”
 “Use and disuse” and
“inheritance of
acquired characters”
 Ex: Long neck in
Giraffes
 Darwinism
 Charles Robert Darwin-
 Father of Evolution
 Born in Shrewsbury, England in
1809
 Grandson of naturalist and
physician Erasmus Darwin
 Studied medicine at the
University of Edinburgh
 At 20, he became a naturalist
and traveled round the world in
a ship called ‘H.M.S.Beagle’.
 During his voyage, he
visited Galapagos Island
 In 1858, Darwin along
with Alfred Russel
Wallace presented their
papers before Linnean
Society in London
 In 1859, they published
their views in a book
entitled “ Origin of
Species by Natural
Selection”
 It is regarded as ‘ Bible
on evolution’
 His theory is also known
as “ theory of natural
selection’
Theory of Natural Selection
 His theory mainly
includes three
observations and two
conclusions
 Observations
 Prodigality of
production
 Constancy of number
 Occurrence of variations

Conclusions
 Struggle for existence
 Survival of the fittest
 Prodigality of Production
There is overproduction
of organisms in geometric
proportion
Overproduction is the
tendency of all living
organisms to multiply
rapidly
The organisms produce
more offsprings which are
more than necessary to
replace them
Evening Primrose
produces 1,18,000 seeds
A bacteria produces two
individuals in 30 minutes
An Elephant with an
average life of 100 years
produces six offsprings.
Such a rate if continued,
descendents of a single
pair after 750 years would
be about 19 million
An Oyster lays 50 million
eggs in one season. If all
these survive and
reproduce for 5
generations, the volume
occupied these will be
eight times the size of
earth.
 Constancy of number
In nature, the population size remains
more or less constant or steady over the
period of time.
It is determined by factors like food,
shelter, light, etc.
Population increases till the environment
supports no further increase
 Occurrence of Variations
 Itis the difference in characters between the
individuals of common descent
 According to Darwin, ‘no two individuals are
exactly alike’
 Young ones of the same parents showed
variations with regard to size, colour, health,
strength and susceptibility to diseases
 Variations can be continuous or discontinuous
type and harmful or useful or neutral type
Useful variations
 Advantageous to the
possessor
 Increases the chances of
survival
 Development of disease
resistance in plants
Harmful variations
 Hinder the possessor during
the struggle for survival
 It may lead to the total
elimination of an individual
 Chlorophyll deficiency in
plants
Neutral variations
Neither help nor harm the
possessor
Not significant from
evolutionary point of view
Variations in leaf form, type of
stem, shape of fruit
 Environmental variations
 Acquired by the organisms due to the
influence of environment
 These are temporary and not heritable
 They have no role in evolution

 Genetic variations
Variations in genetic make up of an individual
These are permanent and heritable
Play an important role in evolution
 Struggle for Existence
The competition that the
organism has to face in
order to survive
Competition for basic
needs as well as avoid
predation, parasitism and
diseases
Intraspecific struggle
Interspecific struggle
Environmental struggle
Survival of the Fittest
 Survival of the Fittest
Organisms that possess favorable variations
in the struggle for existence are called the
fittest
It is quietly done by nature and too slight to
be noticed (imperceptible)
Organisms with unfavorable variations are
eventually reduced and become extinct
This kind of filtering mechanism or selection
by nature is called natural selection
 Origin of species by natural
selection
Selection of better adapted individuals
with useful variations by nature
Organisms with favourable variations are
allowed to reproduce by nature
More and more better adapted individuals
are formed every generation
Leads to the formation of new species
Origin of new species
↑
Accumulation of positive variations
↑
Survival of the fittest
↑
Natural selection
↑
Positive variations Elimination
↑ ↑
Occurrence of variations → Negative variations
↑
Struggle for existence
↑
Over production
 Origin of Long necked Giraffe
on the basis of natural selection
Over production
Short supply of basic
need
Favourable variations
Struggle for existence
Nature selected
longest necked ones
Evidences from Peppered moth
 Biston betularia
 Peppered variety (light
grey colored body and
wings with pepper like
spots)
 B.betularia carbonaria,
melanic form
 Black body and wings
 Nature selected peppered
variety
Evidences form DDT resistance
in Mosquito
Paul Miller invented
DDT after II world war
Survival of the fittest
Natural selection
 Mutation theory
 Put forth by Hugo de
Vries in 1902
 Observations made on
ornamental plant
Oenothera lamarckiana
 Identified many mutants
which resulted in a new
approach to evolution
 O.nanella, O.brevistylis,
O.laevifolia, O.gigas
O.oblongata, O.albida
Progressive species
 Provided with new characters not seen in parents and
are better adapted
 Ex: O.gigas

Retrogressive species
 Showed loss of some parental characters
 Ex: O.brevistylis

Degressive species
 Showed the loss of vital characters
 Ex: O.albida, O.oblongata

Inconstant species
 Do not breed true and often produce new varieties
 Ex: O.scintillans
Salient features of mutation theory
Mutations are spontaneous and heritable
Raw materials for evolution
They are sudden quick jerky process
No intermediate stages
May be progressive or retrogressive
Subjected to natural selection
 Evidences for mutation
 Short
bow legged
sheep Ancon

 Lack of pigmentation
or albinism in
organisms
 Neodarwinism
Put forth by Huxley,
Haldane, Dobzhansky,
Goldsmith, Fischer,
Muller, etc.
Modern synthetic theory,
Modern Evolution theory
The constructors of this
theory are known as
Neodarwinians
Combination of
Darwinism, Mendelism
and views of Hugo De
Vries theory

Dobzhansky
 Neodarwinian concept
Change in gene frequency is evolution
Somatic and germinal variations were
differentiated
Evolution operates on gene pool
Evolution operates through differential
reproduction and comparative
reproductive success
It explains the arrival of the fittest
 Gene pool
 It is defined as ‘ the sum total of all the genes
present in a large sexually reproducing
population’.
 It represents all the genes of all individuals put
together in a given population
 It is not static
 Consistently changing gene pool undergoes
evolutionary changes
 If it is more or less static, it fails to bring about
evolutionary changes
 Gene frequency
 It is defined as ‘ the ratio of different alleles of a gene in a
population’.
 Ex: Coloration in human population controlled by two alleles
A (dominant) and a (recessive)
 Possible genotypes: AA, Aa, aa
 Consider a population of 100 individuals with 40 AA, 40 Aa
and 20 aa
 Total number of A gene- 40x2 (AA)+40(Aa)=100
 Total number of a gene- 40x2(AA)+40(Aa)=100
 Total number of alleles= AA + Aa + aa

40x2 40+40 20x2= 200

frequency of A is 80+40=120/200=0.6
frequency of a is 20+40=80/200=0.4
Gene frequency is A:a 0.6:0.4
 Hardy-Weinberg Law
 Proposed by G.H.Hardy and E.Weinberg
in 1908.
 Establishes a connection between
evolution and gene frequencies
 Law is defined as ‘ in a large population,
the gene frequencies of various kinds of
genes remain constant, generation after
generation under certain conditions’.
Conditions responsible for Hardy-
Weinberg equilibrium
It operates only on a large sexually reproducing
population
Allele frequencies of male and female should be
same
Allele genotypes must be equally viable and
fertile
Mutations, migrations and selection should not
occur
Evolution occurs only when the equilibrium is
altered
Law is represented as p+q=1
 Example

Consider two alleles M and m with genotypes

MM, Ma and mm
Represent gene frequency of M as p and m as q.
According to law, p+q=1
Relationship between gene and gene frequency
is (p+q)2=p2+2pq+q2
If gene frequency M and m is 50%
then, p=50%=1/2=0.5
q=50%=1/2=0.5
Genotype frequency is (p+q)2=p2+2pq+q2
=(0.5)2+2(0.5)(0.5)+(0.5)2=1
It can be expressed as 25%p2+50%pq+25%q2
25%MM+50%Mm+25%mm=100%
 Sources of variations
Sexual reproduction

Isolation Gene flow

Variations

Mutation Genetic drift

 1. Sexual Reproduction
 Itis a physiological process through which
an organism produces young ones of its
own kind to continue the race
 Asexual reproduction does not contribute
to evolution
 Sexual reproduction involves
gametogenesis and fertilization
Parents AaBb x AaBb

Gametes AB Ab aB ab AB Ab aB ab

♀ AB Ab aB ab
♂
AB AABB AABb AaBB AaBb

Ab AABb AAbb AaBb Aabb

aB AaBB AaBb aaBB aaBb

ab AaBb Aabb aaBb aabb
 2. Gene flow
 It is defined as ‘transfer of genes between
two inter breeding populations which differ
genetically’
 It leads to increased genetic variations
and evolutionary changes.
 It is brought about by migration and
hybridization
 3. Genetic drift
 It is the random changes in gene frequency in a
small population, purely by chance.
 It is also known as ‘Sewall Wright effect’
 Features
It operates on small population
It is purely by chance
Genes may be totally lost, reduced or increased
Heterozygous gene pairs become homozygous by
chance factor
Fixes or eliminates any trait irrespective of its adaptive
value
Alters Hardy-Weinberg law and helps in origin of a new
species
 4. Mutation
 Itis defined as ‘a spontaneous, permanent
change in the genetic make up of an
individual’.
 Gene mutation
 Ex: Replacement of glutamine by valine in
Haemoglobin results in Sickle Cell anaemia
 Chromosomal mutation
 Turner’s syndrome
 Klinefelter’s syndrome
 5. Isolation
 Itis defined as ‘ separation of a population
into sub units, by some barriers which
prevents interbreeding’
 Each isolated group is acted upon by
evolutionary forces which results in the
formation of a new species
 Types
Geographical isolation
Behavioural isolation
Mechanical isolation
Genetic isolation
“It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve
natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to
have compassion for living creature.”
-Constitution of India: Article 5/A (g)
There Is Only One Earth In The Universe

Earth
O! Mother Earth, Who Has the
Ocean as Clothes and Mountains
and Forests On Body, I Bow to
You. Please Forgive Me for
Touching You My Feet
-Ancient Indian Prayer

Is It In Safe Hands ???

Together We Can
Together We Will