One of the enduring mysteries of evolution is how species make the change into a completely new creature.

Such a process is often called mutation or a change in the genetic characteristics of an organism which makes it essentially different from the base species.

Exactly how this works has long been a point of speculation and debate. One of my professors said, "there's a flash, some magic happens and you have the new improved trilobite". In matters scientific, we tend to frown on magical processes.

What process occurs to make an evolutionary mutation happen?

We know of lots of things that cause chromosomes to change or mutate: radiation and chemicals for instance.

We know that stars change throughout their lifetime. One theory is that evolutionary spurts like the so called Cambrian Explosion may have been caused by a period of instability in our sun. It's difficult to prove and there's very little in the way of ancillary proof.

There is something else that acts on chromosomes: viruses use them in their replication process and viruses are one of the most basic and ancient life forms.

Is it possible that evolutionary mutations may be associated with errors in viral transcription?

Consider the process: a virus attaches itself to a cell. Usually a very specific cell with know receptor sites on the cell wall. Many types of differentiated cells in complex organism have similar cell walls. Virus X attaches itself to a cell that's similar but not quite right. It goes about its business of viral transcription but these chromosomes are different. The viral transcription attempt leaves the cells chromosomes a hash of their original state.

This might be the genesis of cancer and then again- it might simply be Genesis.

Many types of damage to the chromosomes leads to cell death. The editing function of DNA may clean up errors in others. Others may be just different enough and yet not impede the function of the cell.

This process occurs under various conditions quadrillions of times over eons of time until it happens to the right cell in the reproductive organs and then we have a blueprint for something new. A new organism.

Is this the missing link of evolution?

Are viruses responsible for mutations that cause evolutionary leaps- and dead ends?

Someone a lot smarter than me will have to figure this one out but it makes sense in all sorts of ways. Viruses have been around since the beginning. They have been hijacking and replicating themselves using the genetic material of all sorts of cells.

It may turn out that viruses are the catalyst that drive evolutionary processes filling in a very large blank space in the theory.

----------------------------------------------

I wasn't the only person thinking this:

The role played by viruses in the evolution of their hosts: a view based on informational protein phylogenies.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12798227

Evolution of DNA polymerase families: evidences for multiple gene exchange between cellular and viral proteins.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12029358

This is still highly theoretical but there is some convincing evidence in the papers. -JS 9/25 19:43CST