Hey!
I'm a little unsure about how to answer this question, any help is muchly appreciated!:
'The Black Plague was an infectious disease devastating Europe between the 14th and 19th centuries. The disease was caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis
Yersinia pestis usually infects the intestines, but during the Black Plague it infected the lungs, causing pneumonia-like symptoms and killing millions of people.
Recently published research on the bacteria indicates that a small genetic change in the bacteria as far back as 2500 years ago may have caused it to go from a treatable infection of the intestines to a fatal lung infection.
Using your knowledge of Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection, explain how Yersinia pestis may have changed from being an intestinal infection to become a much more severe lung infection.' 3marks
Thank you!
Oooh I'll give it a try
First Up! Define Evolution
Charles Darwin in the 19th century proposed the Theory of Evolution by natural selection as a process in which organisms change over time as a result of new environments, allowing the organism to better adapt to its new habitat.
2nd - Relate the case study to the three aspects of evolution: Variation, Heritability and Over Reproduction.
The Yersinia pestis's evolution from a intestinal infection to a more severe lung infection was potentially due to the variations in the population that survived the treatment 2500 years ago. The certain bacteria with a random genetic difference survived the treatment provided during the contemporary time and continued to survive, slowly reproducing over time to increase the chance of the new species survival. This resulted in the evolution of the Yersinia pestis, which became a more severe lung infection.
Hope that works
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