From: Damien Broderick (damienb@unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Sat Jun 14 2003 - 01:11:25 MDT
At 02:44 AM 6/14/03 -0400, Rafal wrote:
> there is no evidence for targeted
>incorporation of acquired genetic sequences into the germline under a
>Lamarckian mechanism (acquiring a trait during ontogeny and specifically
>conveying it to the next generation because of its usefulness).
I wish I'd seen the entire program, or that the transcript were available
on Australian ABC website (it's probably there, in fact, but I can't find
it), because some purported evidence *was* shown. It looked bogus to me,
though in this context. For example, somebody injected mice with some
labelled unmousey gene (intramuscularly I assume), and lo! The gene cropped
up in offspring, even unto the fourth generation. Implication: traffic into
spermatagonia across the barrier. I don't *think* anyone's had a Nobel for
that one yet. On the other hand, as I mentioned initially, I don't see what
this has to do with Lamarckian inheritance, since we don't adapt in our
lifetime by inventing new genes or radically altering existing ones (except
in the immune system), AFAIK. But suppose we *do*, under environmental
challenge, activate certain promoters etc in a new way, and the protein
products go this way and that and leak into the germ cells and there prime
the equivalent doggo genes in sperm or ova, `preadapting' the next
generation somewhat...
Damien Broderick
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