Scientific Evidence Supporting Creation

Darwin in his book "Origin of Species" introduced his belief of natural selection with an analogy to domestication. He considered domestication as a model of adaptation from which inferences about the nature of variation and selection in natural systems could be drawn. All the modern crops that we grow had arisen from their respective wild species, about 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, through selection of useful mutations. The present day domesticated crops are much different from their wild type ancestors for several morphological and physiological characters. Although these changes in different crops are not exactly the same, some generalized observations are mostly made. The domesticated crops generally have reduced or loss of toxic substances, loss of dispersal mechanisms, loss of seed dormancy, compact growth habit, gigantism with respect to size of fruits, seeds, flowers, pods, ears, leaves, etc. The study of nature of mutations involved in domestication during the last about 15 years not only facilitated investigation of the overall genetic architecture of the transformation of the wild species into domesticated crops but also made possible the identification of genome regions and genes that were selected during domestication of crops. In some cases researchers have been able to pin point the exact nucleotide changes responsible for the production of the key crop-related traits. A few discoveries related to domestication characters are presented here.
Many wild type species have chemical or mechanical protection against herbivorous animals. The chemicals that protect the wild types against herbivores are also toxic to human beings. For example most of the wild species of the family cucurbitaceae produce chemicals called cucurbitacins, which give bitter taste to the fruit. In the cultivated cucumbers, zucchini, water melons and other cucurbit crops these chemicals are normally in such low concentrations that we do not taste the bitter compounds in them. The wild cucurbits contain high levels of cucurbitacins. A few gram of bitter cucumbers, squashes, etc., can cause diarrhea and stomach cramps that can last up to three days. In an interspecific cross between cultivated water melon and the wild type Citrullus colocynthis a single dominant gene Bi governed bitterness of fruits. A loss-of-function mutation bi converted bitter wild type to non-bitter type. Similarly nuts of wild almonds contain amygdalin, a bitter chemical which breaks down to yield poison cyanide and eating even a relatively small number of nuts can be fatal. Selection of sweet type marked the beginning of domestication of almond. A single recessive mutation in a gene prevents the almond trees from making amygdalin.
Wild plants have different mechanisms for dispersion of the species. Wild barleys have fragile rachis which equips them to survive in nature. Most important step in the domestication of wild barley was the development of a tough rachis. The spikes of the non-brittle mutants remain longer on the plant in the field after maturity. The non-brittle rachis thus resulted in efficient harvest without loss of grains. In barley, spikes disarticulate immediately above each rachis node to form typical wedge-shaped spikelets. Disarticulation scars in wild barley are smooth which helps in seed dispersal, whereas in cultivated barley threshing produces rough dehiscence scars on grains detached from rachis segments. The phenotype tough versus brittle rachis is controlled by two genes. The wild types have the genotype BtBt Bt2Bt2. The cultivated types are homozygous recessive for either one (btbt Bt2Bt2) or the other (BtBt bt2bt2) or rarely for both (btbt bt2bt2) genes. Thus to fix a single recessive mutation for either one of the two loci is all that was required to produce tough rachis. This must have been the easiest step in the whole process of the domestication of barley as fixation of a recessive mutation in self-pollinated crops is very easy.
All the seeds of the wild plants do not germinate immediately due to seed dormancy. Seed dormancy is temporary inability of a viable seed to germinate under favorable environmental conditions. Quick and simultaneous germination of seeds could be lethal for annual wild plants as a single unpredicted drought could be lethal for the species, as no seeds will be left for the propagation of the species. Many species are protected genetically through production of germination inhibitors or some other mechanisms which makes seeds initially dormant and thereby spread out their germination over several years. In this manner even if most of the seedlings are killed by a bad weather, some seeds are left to germinate later. But a high level of seed dormancy is a problem in cultivars where rapid germination of all seeds on planting is required. In barley seed dormancy is a quantitative trait that is affected by several genes. Many seed dormancy QTLs have been identified. Cultivars of different pedigrees have different dormancy genes. SD1 is a major QTL and maps near the centromere region on the long arm of chromosome 5H in most of the barley QTLs mapping projects. A single Mendelian gene controls the allele at SD1 in which the dormancy allele is dominant. SD1 shows the largest and most consistent effect on dormancy.
In many crops mutations improving quality of the product have been identified. In tomatoes several biochemical processes leading to production of carotenoids, aroma compounds, sugar and ethylene are involved in fruit ripening. Mutants affecting these biochemical processes have been reported. Two such mutants, i.e., rin (ripening inhibitor) and nor (non-ripening) do not produce ethylene and have low levels of carotenoids. Tomato fruits carrying any of these loss-of-function mutations in homozygous condition remain firm and have better shelf life.
There are many examples of dramatic improvements of agronomic characters during domestication of crops. One of the most important mutant characters selected during domestication of cereals was six-rowed spikes in barley. Wild type barleys are two-rowed and have the dominant allele Vrs1. The cultivated barleys having recessive loss-of-function mutation vrs1 vrs1 are completely six-rowed all over the spike. Six-rowed barleys produce three times as many seeds per spike as two-rowed barleys.
Genetic potential for domestication and further improvement was Pre-designed in each wild progenitor species:
Each domesticated crop has been derived from its wild progenitor species through mutations at many different loci. The mutations involved in domestication of crops are unique. Although useful to human beings these mutations are deleterious for the wild types. The initial domestication and subsequent improvement in all the domesticated crops resulted from these special mutations.
Till late twentieth century it was believed that most of the domestication related traits are conditioned by recessive loss-of-function alleles. Now the results of QTL mapping studies and cloning of the few genes analyzed show a less consistent pattern. Some of these are base pair substitutions or deletions or there are expression level differences caused by mutations in regulatory regions. Most of the regulatory mutations also resulted through loss of genetic material, or base pair substitutions. There is no evidence of evolution of any new gene.
Clue to the fact that it is creation comes from the finding that many genes associated with domestication of crops and their further improvement are loss-of-function mutations or there was loss of certain portion of genetic material. Loss-of-function mutations can not be used to explain evolution rather it supports creation. The genetic information in the wild progenitor species of the domesticated crops was meticulously pre-designed (or say intelligent design) in such a manner that these could easily be transformed to domesticated crops.
The cultivated crop maize was derived from the wild species Zea mays ssp parglumis known as teosinte. The differences between teosinte and maize are so drastic that taxonomists had once placed them in separate genera. The female inflorescence called ear of the two types presents very contrasting differences between the two. The teosinte ear, which is two to three inches long produces only 5-12 kernels as compared to about 12 inches long ear of corn having about 500 kernels, each firmly attached to the cob. The kernels of teosinte are enclosed in hardened cases and disarticulate at maturity. The tooth-cracking stony casing around the kernels has been reduced through mutations, their selection and fixation in all the cultivars. The maize kernels are also very different in morphology as compared to teosinte kernels.
On the basis of recent molecular analysis of the domestication genes it is revealed that genetic information for conversion of the wild species into domesticated form was already created through meticulous design (or say intelligent design) in the genome of the wild species. The genome of teosinte was so designed that it had the genetic potential to be transformed into cultivated maize through special mutations at hundreds of pre-designed loci. For this domestication there is no evolution at any stage. This study scientifically explains that the whole process of domestication is a part of Creation and not evolution as presented by Darwin.
Selected References
1. Ghai BS. 2009. Darwinism An Unconceivable Hypothesis. ( http://www.academicbookdepot.com/ ). The information presented here is primarily based on this scientific study.
2. Navot N, M Sarfatti and D Zamin. 1990. Linkage relationships of genes affecting bitterness and flesh color in watermelon. J. Heredity. 81:162-165.
3. Takahashi R. 1955. The origin and evolution of cultivated barley. Adv. in Genetics. 7:227-266.
4. Han F, SE Ullrich, JA Clancy and I Romagosa. 1999. Inheritance and fine mapping of a major barley seed dormancy QTL. Pl. Science. 143:113-118.
5. Vrebalov J, D Ruezinsky, V Padmanabhan, R White, D Medrano, R Drake, W Schuch, and J Giovannoni. 2002. A MADS-box gene necessary for fruit ripening at the tomato ripening inhibitor (rin) locus. Science 296: 343-346.
6. Komatsuda T, M Pourkheirandish, C He, P Azhaguvel, et al. 2007. Six rowed barley originated from a mutation in a homeodomain – leucine zipper I-class homeobox gene. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA. 104:1424-29.