DECRYPTION – Three models can theoretically account for these small differences between close species.
How did life on Earth become so rich and diverse? How did species gradually derive from a single common ancestor? The mechanisms that drive this phenomenon, known as “speciation”, still raise questions for evolutionary biologists. Several hypotheses coexist, but a Canadian study published in the journal Science sheds new light.
Contrary to the dominant hypothesis, selective pressure, that is to say evolution under environmental constraint, is not the main driving force pushing two species to differentiate. Originally, this speciation would above all be the consequence of geographical separation and the accumulation of random genetic mutations in each of the groups.
Accumulation of random genetic mutations
One of the main difficulties in understanding speciation lies in the very definition of the concept of species. “It all depends on the question you ask yourself.summarizes Robin Aguilée, evolutionary biologist at the University of Toulouse-3
This article is for subscribers only. You have 78% left to discover.
Pushing back the limits of science is also freedom.
Keep reading your article for €0.99 for the first month
Already subscribed? Login