The Link Between Flies and Men
The Descent of Man
©Jan Andersen 2001
I recently read a report about the human genome project (the complete set of genetic instructions) and how it has been established that humans may have as few as 30,000 genes, when it was previously believed that we had in the region of 140,000. Most interestingly, however, the report exposed the similarities between the genetic makeup of parasites, flies, yeast and humans.
It has been discovered that the "hox" genes used to lay down the blueprint of the human embryo are almost identical to those used by a fly. It has been suggested, therefore, that these human "hox" genes could be used to grow a normal fly. Hence, the movie "The Fly" wasn't as far-fetched as it seemed at the time of its creation and makes me ponder over the possibility that this hox gene experiment has already been conducted.
Of course, I've always been able to see the clear link between flies and men. It might explain, for example, why some of them walk all over you and treat you like dirt, not to mention buzzing around you when they're not wanted, putting their feelers all over you and taking an unhealthy interest in all manner of garbage.
The fact that my old Maths' master appeared to have compound eyes is slightly worrying. He could see all 35 of his reluctant pupils simultaneously and had two, unruly tufts of hair on the top of his head that could easily have been mistaken for antennae.
I remember likening my intellectual snob of an ex-husband to an asexual invertebrate once, not realising that there was some scientific basis in that comparison. Apparently, 60% of our genes are copies of those found in worms. Delightful. That explains why he was so cold blooded and spent all of his spare time digging holes in the garden. Oh, and if you chopped him in half, you wouldn't know which end was his head and which was his arse.
As if the link to worms and flies isn't insulting enough, evidence suggests that one set of our genes has come directly from bacteria. It seems that billions of years ago one of our ancestral vertebrates had a passionate fling with bacteria, hence genetically modifying what would eventually become the human race.
So, those who are in uproar over the genetic modification of species might be alarmed to realise that parasites fiddled around with our DNA billions of years ago.
The comparisons do not stop at insects and micro organisms, however. Greg Elgar, who is head of the Fugu genome project at the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, England, talks about the similarities between humans and pufferfish. "In terms of gene complement, we are at least 90% similarprobably higher. There are big differences in gene expression levels and alternate transcripts, but if you're talking about diversity, number and types of proteins, then it's pretty difficult to tell us apart," he says.
My partner has always maintained that humans are genetically modified because if we did, as it has been alleged, evolve from apes, how is it that not all apes developed into modern man? His original theory is that aliens borrowed an ape or two, performed some bizarre sexual experiments and subsequently created a higher form of intelligence that has made the human race what it is today.
It must be wounding to the male ego in particular to discover that we're not as superior a race as it was originally believed. Even more brutal is the fact that the male "Y" chromosome is, according to Dr Venter of Celera Genomics, "absolutely pathetic. There is just not much there. It is very sparse in genes."
Of course, women have known that all along.
