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> "But the complexity of the zygote derives mostly from that 50MB of genome data..." Wait.. does it? I'm rather tempted to think you are right, but here is my
by nooneelse 16y ago
> "But the complexity of the zygote derives mostly from that 50MB of genome data..."
Wait.. does it? I'm rather tempted to think you are right, but here is my worry. I know that the data in the genome encodes proteins that are able to function through their interactions and feed-backs yadda yadda, so as to perform the following tasks: growing a cell, splitting a cell, altering cell structure/function. But notice that "creating a cell" wasn't on that list.
The genome needs some minimally functional, pre-existing cell to be working in. That is something that the genome probably doesn't have the needed complexity to build "from scratch" as it were; it never has to do that job. So that pre-existing structure has some complexity, right? How does that compare to the 50MB?
- Jkeg 16y agoTrue, but my guess is that the extra-genomic data, the preexisting cell, is a trivial amount, since it's always only interpreting the genome and is itself built on an interpretation of a genome. Selection pressure has no reason to store a huge among of complexity outside of the genome after all. The bare minimum will do. As to how exactly that compares to the known 50MB, I've no answer but I'd guess it's an almost flat-rate amongst all species built by evolution.