Re: The evolution of "evolution"

From: Derek Gatherer (d.gatherer@vir.gla.ac.uk)
Date: Fri 07 Oct 2005 - 08:36:49 GMT

  • Next message: Keith Henson: "Re: The evolution of "evolution""

    >
    >- Healthy mitochondria (their genes) are essential for accurate
    >chromatid segregation at the time of fertilization and subsequent
    >mitotic divisions.

    That's irrelevant to the present argument. Clearly if the egg is knackered in any way, development will barely proceed. There is no developmental programming from mitochondrial genes.

    >- Mitochondria are responsible for respiratory process and ATP
    >production. In addition to their energetic nature, mitochondria are
    >involved in the control of apoptosis.

    In the decision to go apoptotic or not - but that's scarcely developmental programming.

    >- The embryo's development is regulated by a balance of pro- and
    >anti-apoptotic genes, since oogenesis throughout the pre-implantation period.

    And the vast majority of those genes are nuclear.

    >- Organs are being shaped by means of apoptosis.

    And the vast majority of genes regulating this process are nuclear.

    >- Zygote survival almost exclusively depends on maternal mRNAs and
    >proteins that accumulate during oocyte growth and maturation. The
    >transition from maternally controlled zygote to activated embryonic
    >genome depends on maternal transcripts.

    and where are the genes producing those maternal transcripts? In the nucleus.

    >Assisted fertilization exists for three decades,

    So? What has that got to do with it?

    You're trying to pull this discussion away from your original assertion that:

    ' "Ontogenesis" in the sense of the physical development of the embryo is at odds with any Darwinist viewpoint, it's rather in perfect agreement with the concept of "punctuated equilibrium". Here, nuclear genes are not relevant. '

    and onto a discussion of maternal transcripts, which are in any case transcribed from the mother's nuclei during oogenesis.

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