In the eighteenth century the French naturalist Jean Baptiste de Lamarck believed that an animal's use or disuse of an organ affected that organ's development in the animal's offspring. βββ
Intro to Topic Β·Lamarckianism
Environmentally induced adaptations can somehow be inherited.
Mama giraffe stretched its neck out to reach tall leaves (that's the environmentally induced adaptation). Somehow baby giraffe is able to inherit a long neck.
Scientists newly discovered numerous examples. I'm expecting to read on to find examples of where a mama organism's environmentally induced adaptation gets passed onto her babies.
Environmentally induced adaptation in this case is the loss of cell walls in bacteria. This adaptation (loss of cell wall) does get passed onto subsequent generations of bacteria. The mechanism of inheritance is not via genes but rather via the interaction among genes.
Virus can infect fruit flies and add a gene which will get passed on. If infected flies are kept warm during reproduction, the virus is eliminated and so is the gene.
If anΒ E. coli bacterium with a certain kind of gene comes into contact with another without that kind of gene, the gene can be inserted into latter, which will then get passed onto its offspring.
The causal mechanism found in E. coli could have helped to speed up evolution. For example, complex cells could have acquired photosynthesis by having come into contact with bacterium that possessed the photosynthesis gene.
Implications Β·Gene inheritance can be "vertical" or "horizontal"
"Vertical" inheritance is what we are familiar with, inheritance of genes from from ancestors. "Horizontal" inheritance is what the previous paragraphs described: from viruses, plasmids, bacteria, or other environmental agents.
Conclusion Β·Horizontal transmission may be the mechanism for inheritance that Lamarck needed
Passage Style
Phenomenon-hypothesis
Single position
18.
Which one of the following βββ ββ ββββββββ ββββ βββ βββββββ βββββ βββ βββββββ ββ ββββ βββββ ββ ββββ βββββββββ
Question Type
Implied
The support for the correct answer is likely to be found in P2, which discussed how the absence of cell walls in bacteria can be inherited when a cell wall is removed from a bacteria.
a
It can be ββββββββ ββ βββββββββββ βββ βββββββββββ βββββ
Thereβs no support for the potential reversing of the absence of cell walls. The example involves only the removal of cell walls.
b
It can be βββββββ βββββ ββ β βββββββ ββββββββββ βββββ
Viruses were discussed only in connection with other examples unrelated to the absence of cell walls.
c
It can be ββββββ ββ βββ ββββ ββ β ββββ ββββ ββ β ββββββ ββββββββββ
Supported by P2.
d
It can be βββββββ βββ βββ βββββββββ ββ βββββββββ ββββ βββββ ββ β βββββ ββ βββββββββ
Thereβs no support for the claim that the process cannot be reversed. We donβt know that it can be reversed, but we also donβt know that it canβt.
e
It can be βββββββββββ ββββββββββββ ββ βββββ βββββββββ
Thereβs no support for the potential transmission to other bacteria. P2 tells us that if we remove the cell wall from a bacterium, as that bacterium grows and multiplies, it wonβt have walls between its cells. This doesnβt involve transmitting the absence of cell walls to another bacteria.
Difficulty
74% of people who answer get this correct
This is a difficult question.
It is significantly harder than the average question in this passage.
CURVE
Score of students with a 50% chance of getting this right
25%146
156
75%165
Analysis
Implied
Phenomenon-hypothesis
Science
Single position
Answer Popularity
PopularityAvg. score
a
2%
159
b
3%
160
c
74%
168
d
3%
159
e
17%
162
Question history
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