The Royal Society admits: Almost everything you've learned about genetics is wrong. Epigenetic mechanisms control DNA.
The theory of mutation driven evolution has failed.
Excerpt: "Epigenetic information affects gene function by interacting with chromatin, while not changing the DNA sequence itself. However, it has become apparent that the interactions between epigenetic information and chromatin can, in fact, indirectly lead to DNA mutations and ultimately influence genome evolution. This review evaluates the ways in which epigenetic information affects genome sequence and evolution. We discuss how DNA methylation has strong and pervasive effects on DNA sequence evolution in eukaryotic organisms.
We also review how the physical interactions arising from the connections between histone proteins and DNA affect DNA mutation and repair. We then discuss how a variety of epigenetic mechanisms exert substantial effects on genome evolution by suppressing the movement of transposable elements. Finally, we examine how genome expansion through gene duplication is also partially controlled by epigenetic information. Overall, we conclude that epigenetic information has widespread indirect effects on DNA sequences in eukaryotes and represents a potent cause and constraint of genome evolution.
Epigenetic information is critical to organismal development, behaviour and function. In addition, many types of epigenetic information can affect genome evolution and structure. Epigenetic marks shape genome evolution through their direct and indirect interactions with chromatin. In particular, DNA methylation leads to a high frequency of single-base substitutions of cytosines in the genome. The packaging of eukaryotic DNA into nucleosomes also has strong effects on genome evolution, because the structure of the nucleosome affects mutation probabilities and DNA repair mechanisms. Epigenetic information in the form of DNA methylation, non-coding RNAs or HPTMs also strongly influences genome mutation by suppressing TE movement. Finally, the evolution of gene content within eukaryotic genomes is affected by epigenetic mechanisms that facilitate the process of gene duplication. Thus, overall, we suggest a greater appreciation of epigenetic information as a mediator of genome evolution. Epigenetic information is ultimately a cause of both organismal plasticity and molecular evolution in eukaryotes."
My comment: Reading instructions: You can replace the word 'evolution' with 'change'. We know that epigenetic regulation never results in any kind of evolution. This is because epigenetic modifications expose genomes to harmful mutations. This leads to inevitable genetic entropy.
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| DNA methylation in the DNA double helix. |
Summary and conclusions:
- Interactions between epigenetic information and chromatin can lead to unintentional mutations (genetic errors).
- But note that the cell is epigenetically able to use specific enzymes (ADAR) by which it can make purposeful changes in both DNA and RNA sequences.
- Opening DNA around histone proteins expose DNA to genetic errors.
- GC content of genomes are prone to turn to AT content due to thermodynamic reasons. This results in less diverse DNA material in the cell making organisms less adaptive to changing environment and more vulnerable to pathogen attacks.
- Epigenetic mechanisms control transposable elements by suppressing (silencing) them. Unsuccessful suppression results in problems because TEs and virus strands may get activated.
- Epigenetic mechanisms control gene duplications in adaptive processes.
- DNA is passive information. DNA has no control over cellular processes.
- The basic tenets of the theory of evolution, random mutations and selection, are wrong.
- There is no role for random chance any more in organismal adaptation and variation.
- The theory of evolution has failed.
