Genetic Performance and Mutational Opportunity

When an opportunity arises, some people will grasp it; many will not believe in or trust their luck, whilst others will sit back and let the opportunity pass or have it taken away from them. Fate may offer new possibilities, but whether those possibilities prove fruitful will depend on the individual.

The same may be said for genetic performance.

Whenever a genetic mutation occurs, it amounts to a genetic opportunity. It is the moment of genetic change when new possibilities become available.

Although there are various types of genetic mutation, the common element is that, in the reproductive process, there isn’t perfect genetic replication. A genetic modification occurs. This is the means by which life evolves.

In themselves, these creative moments are of little significance. It is only when these mutations get established through the adaptation process – achieving some sort of critical mass – that they can then be of influence. This is not always guaranteed. Genetic changes may or may not be passed on to subsequent generations.

Creation may be in the hands of the fates, but a mutation’s future is certainly much more governed, governed by the environment and by the individual carrying the mutational gene. The lifecycle of mutational genes can be short or enduring; expansionist or dormant; a force of influence or an ineffectual presence.

Most mutations will lead an unremarkable, inconspicuous existence. As a passive force, they will fail to make any headway in their drive for status. They will be single (or limited) generation occurrences, dwarfed or swallowed up by their genetic rivals. These mutations will fade from being.

Other mutations will persist but drift into a state of stasis, unable to make any substantive developmental progress. Their appeal may be unrecognised; they may be off the reproductive radar, or simply undiscovered. These mutations must wait for some sort of genetic promotion: that their genetic benefits are suddenly recognised and sought after; that they undergo further mutations to advance their desirable cause, or that genetic weakness occurs elsewhere to elevate their own standing in the genetic hierarchy.

These stasis mutations are rather like the loose change that we have in our pocket; most of the time, it just seems to disappear – it gets spent on day-to-day items, taken by the kids, lost down the side of the couch, put in places, and then forgotten about. If, on the other hand, it is collected in one place and allowed to build up, it can amass into something quite sizeable, which can then be used for something special.

That is the aim of all genetic mutations: to achieve an enhanced status so that they become a dominant strain. They want to become an abiding genetic influence.

However, enhanced status is never a final position. Mutational triumph is never complete. The world of genetics is one of flux, with the balance of forces constantly shifting. There’s always more work to be done – genetic gains to be made, genetic positions to be secured, genetic opportunities to be seized upon.

Mutational genes have to secure their survival and their development. They have to elevate themselves from a state of stasis to a state of enhanced status. It’s not a straightforward process. There are so many forces at work; so many things that can go wrong.

Not only are mutational success and development determined and dependent on the interplay of genes within a species, but they are also significantly influenced by a species’ living arrangements and reproductive behaviour.

• The smaller and closer a community is, the more likely a single mutation is to be impactful.
• The greater the level of sexual opportunity and freedom in a community, the more likely a single mutation is of making an impression.
• The greater the reproductive output of each individual, the more likely a single mutation is of ensuring it is passed on to future generations.
• The gender bearing the mutation can also be important because, in some species, males have much greater reproductive opportunity than females.

Lions live in small, well-bonded pride groups overseen by a dominant male. That male has sexual license to mate with all the pride’s females. He will do so until a more dominant male challenges and overthrows him. In these circumstances, a single mutation carried by a male can make significant advances.

Contrast this behaviour with that of another big cat – a leopard. Leopards are solitary creatures, only having contact with each other for reproduction. Mutant genes will be much slower to secure any generational progression than in lions.

This suggests that herd or pack animals may have a genetic advantage in promoting mutational opportunities. It might also, in part, explain why human development has progressed so much – we are, after all, one of the most successful communal animals.

And yet, looking to the future, in relation to the human condition, our potential for further significant genetic change driven by mutation may now be much more limited. This is because our living behaviours have changed: we live in much larger groups, we are increasingly distanced from one another within our communities (for example, not knowing our neighbours), our sexual proclivity has been restrained by societal development, and, with increased survival rates and improved contraception, our reproductive output has declined.

Not only that. There is also a reasonable argument that, as we become more complex as a species, we are less likely to identify genetic mutational benefits. New mutational developments will struggle to make an impression. Instead, mutations get engulfed in our enormity and complexity – a needle in a haystack. Their failure to stand out and show their significance means they will, in all probability, be lost to us.

In fact, this might be an area for future genetic research and development – the identification and harnessing of new genetic mutations arising within our species in order to engineer an improved humanity. We wouldn’t then have to wait for these mutational genes to reveal themselves; we wouldn’t have to wait for them to achieve a critical mass in their adaptive propagation.

It would certainly enable us to have more control and direction over our development. It might also be necessary, given, as described, our declining ability to naturally take advantage of new mutational opportunities within the human species.

Perhaps we can’t and shouldn’t accept the leaving of mutational enhancement to the natural interplay of our genes. Perhaps we do need to get more involved in it.

The way we, as a species, choose to live our lives will determine our evolutionary development. It will shape our future. It will determine how our species changes – how mutational adaptation shapes our condition. The better a species is at identifying and nurturing beneficial mutations, the more successful it will be.

For other interesting blogs on this subject area, check out Articles or the Article Index