UNIT 9.

THE
ORIGIN AND
EVOLUTION
OF LIFE

Elaborado por: Alicia

SA9. Evolution Izquierdo
4ESO- Biología y
geología
1. THE ORIGIN OF
LIFE
Numerous explanations have been
What is the origin of proposed throughout history
life?

SPONTANEOUS
GENERATION
Living things are generated
Examples of possible
spontaneously from inert
spontaneous generation:
matter.
- Maggots that appear in
There is a vital force of
decomposing meat
supernatural origin
- Frogs that grow in mud and
stagnant water
 ATTEMPTS TO SCIENTIFICALLY REFUTE SPONTANEOUS
GENERATION

1668- Francesco
Redi
Redi inserted two pieces of meat into
three containers RESULT:

- One container was left open In both containers, open

- Other container was covered by gauze container and covered by
- Other container was totally closed gauze, the meat was
decomposed

- Maggots were only

present in the open
container. They were fly
larvae
1859- Louis
Pasteur
All living things, include
microorganisms, come from
another living thing

1) Pasteur poured beef broth into two

flasks with a curved narrow neck.
He boiled the liquid in both flasks
and left it to stand
Pasteur demonstrated that microorganisms
2) He broke the neck of one of the were in the air, attached to dust
flasks particles.
RESULT:
- The long curve neck of the unbroken flask
- The broth in the flask with the trapped dust and microorganisms could not
unbroken neck had no reach the broth.
decomposed
- Breaking the neck of the second flask
- The contents in the flask with the enabled the microorganisms to come into
broken neck had decomposed contact with the broth. It decomposed
 MODELS TO EXPLAIN THE PRESENCE OF LIFE ON
EARTH

1) PANSPERMI
A
Life originated in space and was carried
to the Earth by meteorites

Carbon- based organic matter has been

identified in some comets and meteorites
 MODELS TO EXPLAIN THE PRESENCE OF LIFE ON
EARTH

1) 2) ABIOGENESIS OR PREBIOTIC
SYNTHESIS
This accepted model combines several
theories. All contemplate three stages:

a) Formation of simple organic molecules

from inorganic molecules

b) Development of complex molecules

c) Appearance of the first cells: chemical

evolution
Theories:

- Primordial soup or broth

theory

- Theory of hidrotermal vents

 PRIMORDIAL
SOUP

1920- Alexander Oparin and John

Haldane

They described a primitive oxygen- Energy source:

free atmosphere
Ultraviolet radiation and
It was composed of gases: electrical energy from violent
methane, ammonia, hydrogen storms
and water vapour

This produce a great variety of simple

molecules that were on the shallow
water of the first seas

More complex structures formed later

They would develop membranes and

produce the first cells
 This is a more widely accepted
THEORY OF HYDROTHERMAL theory
VENTS
Life started in hydrothermal vents, located on the seafloor
along the ocean ridges

These vents are protected from solar radiation and forces like wind
and currents

These places are rich in

methane, hydrogen,
sulphide and iron.

They were the perfect

conditions for bacteria
growing (they feed of that
compounds)

Bacteria are resistant to high

temperatures and they are the
oldest organisms known
2. THE ORIGIN OF
BIODIVERSITY
By the start of the nineteenth century, the diversity of species was well
established

There were different theories to explain the diversity of

species:

- Creationism
- Fixism

Both theories postulated that all species of living

things:

a) Were creations of God

b) Had appeared at the same time on the

Earth

c) Had remained unchanged over time

These theories were disrupted by the appearance of fossils of extinct
organisms

George Cuvier founded the theory of

catastrophism

All species have been exposed to

major disasters throughout the
history of Earth

Many species became extinct and

fossils appeared
3. LAMARCK

The first coherent evolutionary theory LAMARCK’S

(1809) THEORY
He proposed that organisms
become increasingly
complex over time
Main points of the theory:

a) Importance of the environment: changes to environmental

conditions drive the transformation of organisms

b) Law of use and disuse: organs can grow and develope due to
necessities imposed by conditions in the natural environment.
However, they can also change size and disappear if they are not
used

c) Inheritance of acquired characteristics: beneficial changes

may occur during an organism’s lifetime and these changes are
transmitted to descendants
This theory was accepted until the start of the 20th century: the development of
genetics showed that acquired characteristics were not transmitted to
4. DARWIN AND
WALLACE
Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace were
naturalists that had independently reached
the same conclusions about the origin of the
diversity of species

Main ideas:

a) All species, including human beings, are descended from other species.
They all have a common ancestor

b) Species change over time: they evolve in a continual, slow and gradual
process. It is called gradualism

c) The main mechanism for explaining how species change is natural

selection
• Changes to conditions in the environment
• The capacity of living things to adapt to their surroundings
 HOW DOES NATURAL SELECTION
WORK?
Three principles:

Existence of heritable Descent with Differential

variability modification reproduction

Individuals in a Descendants are not Individuals with most

population have exact replicas of their advantageous
different parents. heritable
characteristics. characteristics are
During reproduction, more likely to
These characteristics can characteristics survive and transmit
be passed down to inherited from each them to their
descendants parent combine and descendants
produce different
individuals
EXAMPLE OF NATURAL
SELECTION
 ADAPTATI
ON
Some characteristics give the individuals that carry it
an advantage

It increases their chance to survival and

reproduction

An advantageous characteristic of this type is

called an adaptation and it includes, for
example: Natural selection:
- Behaviour: an individual can escape a Individuals with most
predator advantageous heritable
characteristics are more
- An enzyme that is more effective at a specific likely to survive and
temperature transmit them to their
descendants
- An anatomical modification that enables
better access to resource
 SEXUAL SELECTION AND
COEVOLUTION
Darwin continued to develop his theory. He incorporated evolutionary mechanisms to
explain diversity:

SEXUAL
SELECTION
There are a wide variety of shapes, colours and behaviours in plants and animals . Not all
them are to guarantee survival, in some cases they might endanger the individual
Darwin suggested that the ability to reproduce does not only depend on the
capacity of survival. Mechanisms involved:

- An ability to attract the attention of a mate No siempre sobrevivir

implica reproducirse,
- Fighting between males prior to mating hay más aspectos a
tener en cuenta para
conseguir la
reproducción

COEVOLUTION

Many species interact very closely. Changes

in one species may reciprocally affect the other,
they evolve together

Example: a predator and its

prey
 ORK
OM EW
H
!

Page 174. Activity 2

Page 175. Activities 4,
5, 6, 7
Page 177. Activities 5,
6
5. THE GENETIC BASIS OF
VARIABILITY
Darwin and Wallace’s theory did not explain the variability in populations nor the
transfer of characteristics to descendants.

This was not explain until the role of genes was discovered. Scientists realized
that the genes are responsable for transmitting genetic information from
generation to generation
 MUTATION
S
Mutations are alterations of the genetic
material. They produce different versions of the
same gene, called alleles

When mutations occur

in gametes, they are
transmitted to
descendants
This happens at random!!!

Factors like exposure to

radiation or chemicals can
inscrease the frequency of
mutations
 According to Darwin, mutations are the
main source of variability in a population.
The accumulation of changes in DNA is a
gradual process
 SEXUAL
REPRODUCTION
New individuals are produced through sexual
reproduction and they differ from each other

That produces new combinations of genes

The key processes in the generation of variability are:

- Crossover: during prophase I

- Separation of homologous chromosomes during

anaphase I. This distribution is random

- Fertilization: each zigote carries a different

combination of genes from its parents
 TRABAJO
INDIVIDUAL
De forma individual, debes realizar las dos actividades propuestas a
continuación:

Actividad 1. Reflexión

Debes elaborar una reflexión sobre las diferentes teorías del origen de la vida.

Debe ser elaborada en word, de manera individual, en inglés, y ocupar una página. Ha de
contener:

- Título

- Descripción de las teorías sobre el origen de la vida tratadas en clase (presentes en este
PowerPoint)

- Descripción de alguna teoría no comentada!p. Por ejemplo: teoría del ARN, teoría del
metabolismo, teoría del mundo hierro- azufre, etc

- Reflexión sobre qué teoría crees que puede explicar mejor el origen de la vida y en qué
basas esta afirmación. Además, debes incluir argumentos para rechazar el resto.

Recuerda citar las fuentes de donde has extraído la información y no copiar textualmente, has de
reescribir la información con tus palabras.
 Esta Presentación debe contener:
Actividad 2. PowerPoint teorías de la
evolución
1. Portada: título y nombre del autor

2. Lamarck: explicación de la teoría con el

En esta tarea, debes realizar un PowerPoint de
ejemplo escogido
mínimo 5 diapositivas en inglés, donde expliques
las teorías de la evolución propuestas por
3. Darwin: explicación de la teoría con el
Lamarck, Darwin y Neodarwinismo usando un
ejemplo escogido
mismo ejemplo para todas ellas. Este ejemplo debe
ser distinto de los vistos en clase.
4. Neodarwinismo: explicación de la teoría con
el ejemplo escogido
Para explicar el Neodarwinismo, has de buscar
información en internet.
5. Conclusión final

- Cada apartado debe contener la imagen del

ejemplo y se debe usar el mismo en todas
Ejemplo: cuello de la jirafa. Has de explicar las tres
ellas.
teorías basándote en este ejemplo, explicando las
diferencias y causas del crecimiento del cuello en
- NO SE PUEDE UTILIZAR EL EJEMPLO DEL
cada caso y cómo se aplican los distintos postulados
CUELLO DE JIRAFA NI TROMPA DE
de cada teoría para explicar este fenómeno.
ELEFANTE
Esta Presentación digital cuenta con una licencia
que permite copiar y distribuir en cualquier medio o
formato, siempre que no esté adaptada, con
finalidad no comerciales y atribuyendo la autoría
correctamente