ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION

OF LIFE
Contents

1. Introduction

2. Theories of Evolution: a) The BIG BANG Theory

b) Theory of NATURAL SELECTION

 ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF LIFE

1. How did life originate on earth?

2. How did primitive organisms evolve into new forms

resulting in the evolution of a variety of organisms on
earth.?
 Origin of life on earth is also called proto-biogenesis.

 It is clear that life came into existence from non living substances of primordial earth
about 3 billion year ago.

 Origin of life can be explained by following theories.

 MODES OF EVOLUTION OF LIFE

1. Big bang theory

2. Theory of Natural selection
3. Theory of spontaneous generation
4. Theory of biogenesis and abio-genesis
5. Theory of biochemical evolution
6. Theory of panspermia
7. Deep sea hydrothermal vent theory
 Features of BIG BANG theory

 The study of the evolution of life forms on Earth is known as evolutionary biology.

 To comprehend the evolution of flora and fauna on Earth over millions of years, we
must first comprehend the origin of life, which begins with the evolution of the earth,
stars, and the cosmos as a whole.

 The origin of life is thought to be a one-of-a-kind occurrence in the universe's history.

 The Big Bang Theory tries to explain the origins of the cosmos to humans.
The Big Bang theory

 The Big Bang Theory is a theory that describes how the universe began.

 According to the Big bang theory, the universe was once in an extremely hot and
dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion cause the universe to cool.

 A singular huge explosion of very dense matter from a point of singularity. This
caused the universe to expand and the temperature to fall drastically.
 The Big Bang produced a large number of hydrogen and helium atoms, including trace
quantities of lithium and beryllium.

 Giant clouds of these primordial elements (hydrogen and helium) eventually merged to
create stars and galaxies due to gravity.

 According to the hypothesis of the Big Bang Theory, the cosmos has been extending in all
directions from its genesis
 Stages of the Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory is divided into four stages:

1. Heavy Particle Era
2. Light Particle Era
3. Radiation Era
4. Matter Era
 Evidence Supporting the Big Bang Theory

 Three pieces of evidence support the Big Bang theory.

 the measured abundances of elements

 The observable expansion of space

 The introduction of the Cosmic Microwave Background

(CMB)
 Assumptions of the Big Bang Theory

 This principle only applies to the universe's large-scale features, but it does indicate that there
is no edge to the cosmos, implying that the big bang occurred not at a single spot in space but
rather all over space at the same moment. The Big Bang theory is in accordance with the
following assumptions:

 The first is that Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity accurately captures how all
matter interacts with gravity.

 The second assumption, known as the cosmological principle, holds that an observer’s vision
of the cosmos is unaffected by his location or the direction in which he looks.
 THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION
Natural selection is the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive, pass
on the genes, and produce more offspring.

It is a mechanism of evolution that causes species to change and diverge over time.

 More than a century ago, in 1958, Charles Darwin (1809-1882) and Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
combinedly credited the theory of evolution by natural selection and published the book “Origin of
species”.

 In 1859, Darwin separately published the book called “On the origin of species by means of natural
selection”.
 After the death of Darwin, Neo-Darwinism theory was developed.
 DARWINIAN THEORY OF NATURAL
SELECTION

• Darwin-Wallace theory states that “The change in species by the survival of an

organismal type exhibiting a natural variation that gives it an adaptive
advantage in an environment, thus, leading to a new environmental equilibrium,
is evolution by natural selection”.

• The natural selection process is a continuous process of trial and error on an

enormous scale for all living matter.
 Natural selection includes the following five elements.

1. The universal occurrence of variation.

2. Natural rate of multiplication.
3. Struggle for existence.
4. Survival of the fittest.
5. The inheritance of mutations.
 1. The universal occurrence of variation:

 Every group of organisms (animal and plant) may differ in many ways, known as
variation.

 The Darwin and Wallace period did not know the source of variation and assumed it
might be one of the innate properties of the organism.

 Still, now we know that inherited variations are caused by mutation.

 2. Natural rate of multiplication.

 Every species, In the absence of environmental checks ,tends to increase in a geometrical

manner. With any check, a population multiply at exponential rate.

 Such a great reproductive potential of different species may be easily observed in nature.

 More organisms of each kind are born then can possibly obtain food and survive. since,
the number of each species remains fairly constant under natural conditions, it must be
assumed that most of the off springs of any species reminded alive and reproduced they
would soon crowd all other species from the earth.
 3. Struggle for existence

 Since more individuals are born than can survive there is an intraspecific and
interspecific competition for,
1. Food
2. Mates
3. Space
4. Environmental Struggle
4. Survival of the fittest

 Some of the variations exhibited by living things make it easier for them to survive;
others are handicapped which brings about the elimination of their procedures.

 The core of the natural selection theory is the idea of the survival of the fittest.
 5. The inheritance of mutations

• The individual who survives will give rise to the next generation, and with this
method, the successful variations are transmitted to the succeeding generation.

• A less fit individual is eliminated before being reproduced.

• Successive generation becomes better adapted to their environment. If the

environmental condition changes, further adaption occurs.

• The operation of natural selection over time in many generations may produce
descendants (different from their ancestors). This way, two or many more species
may arise or produce from a single ancestral stock.
 Example of Natural selection

 Galapagos Finches: Galapagos finches have larger and small beaks. During drought
time, the finches with long beaks survived better than those with smaller beaks
however, in rainy times, more small seeds were produced, and finches with smaller
beaks survived better. Thus, the environment supports both types of beaks.