Tedd Hadley wrote:
> > -- The formation of the prototype (or archetype) is rapid,
> > through parabiotic macromutation.
>
> But you have to tie this into hox genes at some point. Talking
> about body plans and segments without mentioning hox genes is
> like talking about evolution and not mentioning mutation. It
> is a fact that 1) hox genes control body plans, 2) hox genes &
> clusters have been duplicated (assuming that the locations and
> sequences aren't just coincidence) and 3) the duplications
> correlate roughly with the complexity of the body plan. That
> seems to be the sort of smoking gun that can't be ignored.
I haven't inferred anything from hox genes; I came up with the idea
long before I'd heard of hox genes. It would be nice if I could find
corroboration in hox genes, but I just don't know enough.
My model is morphological; it's simply what you get when you
extrapolate back in time from the pattern of reduction and
specialization of skeletal segments: an array of symmetrical
parts, formed through some kind of multiplicative mutations,
a mass of morphological raw material to be sculpted by
reduction and distortion.
--Cliff Lundberg ~ San Francisco ~ 415-648-0208 ~ cliff@cab.com
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