Phil Henshaw wrote:
We could consider the vast variation in
canine breeds and the fact that breeding selection as an extreme form of
epigenetics has not apparently altered the species they all belong to.
Selection from breeding would mostly be constrained genetics, i.e. a big
and a small dog could be discriminated by, say, an insulin allele, say
(http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/316/5821/112).
However in epigenetic case we are talking about an inherited but
non-genetic change.
Perhaps the question is how environmental pressures and experience may
clearly influence genetics, but be insufficient to originate the kind of
somehow deeper genetic change that creates new forms of life. Among other
things it points to a distinct difference between 'shallower' and 'deeper'
genetic change indicating that some form of structure other than noisy
aggregations may be present.
Seems to me that everything from epigenetic gene regulation changes to
horizontal gene transfer is happening at the bacterial level.. What is
the question?
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