Abstract
A condensed version of TIMA (template-induced molecular assembly) theory as given in Wassermann (1982a,b; 1997) and partly novel, is presented. It is suggested how many, or most, kinds of genes could arise directively (i.e. non-randomly). The machinery involves a development of the Mekler (1967) and Cook (1977) mechanisms. It relies on coordinate directed evolution of Polypeptide chains and mRNAs without invoking reverse translation. Viruses could have ensured that the new genes (cDNAs) produced with the help of reverse transcription were transported to germ line cells, where they were incorporated into genomes. It is shown how, typically, the theory could account for the non-random evolution of many types of horns, antlers, beaks and the evolutionary transition from paired fins of rhipidistian fishes to the limbs of the earliest amphibians. Likewise it appears that the evolution of co-adaptations, such as the adaptation of the human lungs and ribcase, human skull and brain and co-adaptations of the various structures and functions of the vertebrate eye can all, in principle, be explained in terms of TIMA. Also pseudo-exogenous adaptations find an important explanation in terms of TIMA, as does the co-evolution of matched sex organs.
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Wassermann, G.D. (1999). TIMA: A Recent Evolutionary Paradigm. In: Wasser, S.P. (eds) Evolutionary Theory and Processes: Modern Perspectives. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4830-6_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4830-6_6
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