Adding information to the genome.

It has been estimated that the size of the functional genome has increased 7.8 fold every billion years. Whether that figure is right or wrong, molecule-to-man evolution certainly requires a steady and substantial nett increase in genomic information.The occasional point mutation can be "seen" by natural selection, but these generally switch an existing gene on or off, so they don't constitute additional information. So what is the absolute minimum novel genetic structure required to be "seen" by natural selection and added as new information to the genome?Is it a protein? An enzyme? A gene? What must be created by random processes in order to be seen and conserved by selection?

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"Often a cold shudder has run through me, and I have asked myself whether I may have not devoted myself to a fantasy." Charles Darwin

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