LIFE 121 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Chromosome, Industrial Revolution
Document Summary
Scientists today are taking a closer look again at darwin"s observations of finches. Especially today with new genetic analysis, the beak shape of finches can be examined from the perspective of a single gene. This same gene is largely apart of the shape of faces in mammals and humans. Known as alx1, this gene has an overwhelming big effect. Where as other traits, such as height, is contributed due to multiple genes, alx1, is the only gene impacting facial development. After studying the morphology of the finches, a genetic tree has been able to suggest that the warbler finches were the first species to branch away. Scientists also have reasons to believe that some species of finches, originally classified by one common ancestor, have actually been inheriting specific traits from different ancestors. In the overall scheme of events, hybridization has been the key to giving species the genes needed to adapt to new environments.
