Domestication And Evolution

Evolution changes in genetic programs

o What kind of changes leads to speciation?
o Our subject today:
o The genetic background of evolution
2. Domestication of animals is a long-scale process, which began in
prehistoric times
3.Domestication is a result of artificial selection , which, opposite to
natural selection , is carried out by man. Actually, there is no real
opposition between these two kinds of selection even Charles
Darwin began his classical work with amazing examples of variation
in domestic animals, caused by man .
4. Darwins example of artificial selection pigeons breeds
5.Darwin considered the mans job on changing animals phenotype
and behavior as a model of what nature can do. And as any model it
can help us to understand the mechanisms of evolution the basic
process of life history. The problem is that prehistoric people had not
bothered of making detailed scientific records for us.
6.It means: The individuals differ by fitness the most adopted have
more chances to survive and to produce offspring hence to pass
their genes to future generations
7.The real evolution is more complicated. Selection never affect one
character only. Because an organism is by no way a mechanical
combination of traits, but a highly integrative system .The proteins
and cells interact in the ontogenesis (individual development) .This
process has hierarchy some genes and gene complexes (the master
genes ) rule and control other genes activity.
8.The highest integrative levels in animals are nerve and hormonal
regulation .From this point of view traits become not equal .Even
slight changes in the regulatory genes can give rise to a wide
network of changes in the developmental processes they govern.
9. In highly integrative systems even small changes of one element can
lead to an avalanche-like events
10.
Regulatory systems
o The systems make an organism develop and function as a whole
o Genes , controlling development
o Hormones
o Nerve system
o

The hormonal and nerve systems are also defined by genes!

11.Regulatory genes

12.
Thus, selecting animals for behavior the top regulatory
character, involving many genes - may lead to other, far-reaching
changes in the animals development .It can cause destabilization of
ontogenesis , and by that means changing of many other characters ,
which had not undergone direct selection
13.
The mystery of parallelism
o These was in line with one of well-known and mysterious facts about
domestication: a striking parallelism in the morphological changes
o In a wide range of mammals herbivores and predators, large and
small domestication seems to lead to strictly coincident forms
14.
all except sheep changes in reproductive cycle dogs, cats, pigs,
sheep, goats, cattle floppy ears dogs, cats, sheep shortened tails,
fewer vertebrae dogs, pigs rolled tails sheep, poodles, donkeys,
horses, pigs, goats, mice, guinea pigs wavy or curly hair all piebald
coat color all appearance of dwarf and giant forms Domesticated
species Character
15.
To ensure that their behavior is determined rather by genes ,
than by the environment, any training was excluded : the foxes spent
their lives in cages and were allowed only brief contacts with
humans
16.
What distinguishes the domesticated foxes of the wild ones?
o The first is the behavior
o Behavior is strictly determined by hormones and hormone level
changed significantly too
o The reproductive cycle regulated by hormones is very conservative
in wild animals. Domestication shifted time of the normal breeding
season and even made some animals capable for twice a year
reproduc tion . (normally once)
17.
More surprising were the morphological changes
o The new morphological characters that are absent in wild animals
but are quite common in dogs:
o a loss of pigment in the coat color Star mark on the forehead and
piebald coat
o floppy ears
o rolled tails
o shortened tails and legs
Similar genes produce similar mutations Similar mutant phenotype
o

The leading role among genes stabilizing an organisms development

belongs to the genes that control the neural and endocrine systems
The same genes govern the systems that control an animals
behavior, including its friendliness or hostility toward human beings.

So, selecting animals for behavior can fundamentally alter the

development of an organism.
18.
Gene networks rule the development of all traits in ontogeneses
Master genes in inductor cells Membrane receprors genes
Regulatory genes Srtucrural proteins genes
19.
Belyaevs Idea of Destabilizing Selection
20.
Destabilizing Selection as a Model of Speciation
o A puzzle of speciation is that species seem to be stable for a long
periods of time
o And then suddenly (in geological time scale) disappear (in case of
extinction) or transform to a new species.
o Thus, speciation is relatively fast process (hundreds - thousands
generations) in comparison with species continuance.
21.
Stasis, Extinction and Speciation
22.
Species stability is maintained by stabilizing selection Ivan
Shmalgauzen 1884 - 1963
o It provides genetic homeostasis .
o All genes act in coordinate way, resulting in normal development
23.
But stabilizing selection is effective in stable environment only
o If environment abruptly changes the average fitness of population
falls dramatically and directional selection for previously rare
phenotypes began
24.
These extreme phenotypes may be not balanced with other
genes because synchronizing gene orchestra takes time.
o The population enters the period of instability.
o

new equilibrium. extinction.

25.
This model of speciation was put forward by Stephen Jay Gould
in 1970-th
26.
Punctuated Equilibrium Theory of Speciation
27.
This theory strongly resembles processes observed in
domestication
o Of course, natural selection, leading to speciation should not always
affect behavior
o Selection may act on any regulatory chain
28.
For example, strict change of environment can provoke stress
intensive emotional pressure.
o Stress leads to long-time hormonal changes and selection for stressresistance genes regulatory kind of genes, like genes of behavior
29.
The recent results from molecular study of genomes come in
line with this view on speciation
o They revealed that most of general changes in organisms structure
are result of changes in gene regulation , their spatial and temporal

pattern of expression , rather than direct changes in their DNA

sequence
30.
Regulatory evolution at the yellow gene underlies the wing
pigmenation of Drosophilidae Staining for yellow protein
D.melanogaster D. biarmipes D. guttifera Wings
31.
Domestic Animals: Parallelism in Color
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