Evolution: sudden change from a gene loss (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, February 16, 2022, 19:37 (801 days ago) @ David Turell

Supports Behe:

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-sudden-evolutionary.html

"Hodges, doctoral student Zachary Cabin and their colleagues just have identified a case of a sudden evolutionary change. In the journal Current Biology, the scientists describe a population of columbines that have lost their petals, including the characteristic nectar spurs. A drastic change caused by a mutation in a single gene. The finding adds weight to the idea that adaptation can occur in large jumps, rather than merely plodding along over extended timespans.

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"The question then remains whether many small changes occurred in a short period of time, or perhaps whether single large-scale mutation might be responsible. So, researchers really have to catch the development in action if they hope to build a case that sudden changes can drive evolution.

"Enter the Colorado blue columbine. In one population, a mutation has caused many of the plants to lose their petals with the iconic nectar spurs. While not an uncommon occurrence in columbines, spurlessness seems to have stuck around in this area: About a quarter of the plants lack the distinctive feature.

"The team plumbed the plant's genome to find the source of the unusual morphology. They considered a gene, APETALA3-3, known to affect spur development. They found that this single gene controlled the entire development of the flower's spurs and nectaries.

"'The gene is either on or off, so it's about as simple of a change you can get," said lead author Zachary Cabin. "But that simple difference causes a radical change in morphology."

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"'This finding shows that evolution can occur in a big jump if the right kind of gene is involved," Hodges said. APETALA3-3 tells the developing organ to become a petal. "When it's broken, those instructions aren't there anymore, and that causes it to develop into a completely different organ, a sepal," he explained."

Comment: This is devolution, not real evolution and demonstrates Darwinist faith bias.