the following is my reply to molbiogirl posts 601& 587. Percy's post 586, taq's posts 588 & 589.
My interpretation of James A. Shapiro’s natural Genetic Engineering theory
Shapiro writes:
The theory of evolution as expressed today has shortcomings that are not addressed or are ignored by the majority of evolutionary scientists.
My understanding of Shapiro’s position.
Molecular biology has discovered biochemical processes in living cells that shed a new light on the modern theory of evolution. Some of those processes are:
Reverse transcription
Posttranscriptional RNA processing
Catalytic RNA
Genome-wide transcription
Posttranslation protein modifications
DNA proofreading and repairs
From these and other findings he has found inter alia;
The cell is a multilevel information processing entity and the genome is only part of the entire interactive complex.
Mobile DNA movements rather than replication errors serve as the primary engines of protein evolution.
Horizontal DNA transfer between species and between the 3 high kingdoms of living cells may be a major driver of evolutionary novelty.
Genomic data documents the fundamental importance of horizontal transfer in the evolution of bacterial and archaeal genomes.
There is growing evidence for intercellular and interkingdom horizontal transfer events in the evolution of eukaryotic genomes.
Genome sequencing introduced a major process of rapid and multicharacter change into the established evolutionary record which has been largely ignored by the neo-Darwinian followers.
Whole genome doublings is another evolutionary process out side the Darwinian perspective that occurs suddenly, within a single generation, and simultaneously affects multiple phenotypic character.
Synthetic speciation takes place rapidly after hybridization rather than slowly following repeated selections, as predicted by conventional theory.
Hybridization in the Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos Islands, long a paradigm of gradualist evolution, leads to abrupt, unpredictable changes in beak shape.
The virtual infinite dimensions of possible genome configurations has too low a probability of success via the Darwinian gradualism which is too slow and indeterminate a process to account for natural adaptations even allowing for long periods of random mutation and selection.
Evolutionary change by natural genetic engineering employs a combinatorial search process based upon DNA modules that already possess functionality.
Hereditary variation arises from the non-random action of built-in biochemical systems that mobilize DNA and carry out natural genetic engineering.
The Shapiro view of the21st century assumes a major role for the kind of cellular sensitivities and genomic responses asserted by McClintock. Namely the ability cells to regulate expression and restructure their genome according to the needs of the cells, and.
Her statement that the genome is a highly sensitive organ of the cell that monitors genomic activities and corrects common errors, senses unusual and unexpected events and responds to them.
Those four areas of molecular discovery are important to his 21 Century theory of evolution namely:
Genome organization
Cellular repair capabilities
Mobile genetic elements
Cellular information processing.
My interpretation of his writings lead me to the following interpretation of his writings.
That the three issues that are central to the formulation of a theory of evolutionary change are:
Descent with modification
Origins of hereditary variation
The operation of natural selection.
He accepts descent with modification, but does not accept natural selection and random mutation to the degree that the modern evoluntionists believe.
.I believe he is formulating a theory that does not rely on Random Mutation as a primary player in the evolving of organisms.
That Random mutation and selection have a low probability of success and that the molecular findings above are the major mechanisms for the evolutionary process.
That gradualism is not a major factor in evolutionary change, but rather the novel adaptations that require changes at multiple locations in the genome can arise within a single generation and can produce progeny expressing all the changes at once.
As to natural selection, I beleve he finds it not as important as natural genetic engineering selection.
So I am of the opinion that Shapiro is expressing the opinion that the information processing and regulatory actions taken by the cells are an expression that there is intelligence in the cells and this is the major factor in evolution.
In short Shapiro, in my opinion, is of the opinion based on his scientific findings and the findings of many others that organisms posses NATURAL GENETIC ENGINEERING SYSTEMS that are basically the major causes of evolution, both micro and more so macro evolution.
As to how these systems arose, Shapiro stated in the ID forum discussed in our posts:
All existing living organisms possess natural genetic engineering capabilities. So they must be pretty fundamental. Any self-organizing evolving system has to have the capacity to alter its information store. That’s what they do. Where they come from in the first place is not a question we can realistically answer now, any more than we can explain the origin of the first cell.
The long and short of it for me is that Shapiro’s Theory is somewhere between the Modern Darwinian theory of evolution and the Intelligent Design theory of evolution.
Hope this helps in answering your questions Molbiogirl and Percy, and clarifies my position with all on this board
Edited by shadow71, : No reason given.
Edited by shadow71, : No reason given.
Edited by shadow71, : No reason given.
Edited by shadow71, : No reason given.
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