Tracing Genetic Images Formed During Evolution

This work introduces an approach to evolutionary analysis in which information encoded in amino-acid sequences is converted into a specific type of image, termed a genetic image. Genetic images derived from the amino-acid sequences of cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I are shown to be suitable for identifying evolutionary similarities between organisms. Furthermore, artificial neural networks are demonstrated to recognize these genetic images, enabling identification of species evolution. The results indicate the similarity of the genetic images of organisms belonging to species that emerged earlier during Earth’s evolutionary history to the genetic images of organisms belonging to species that emerged later. This finding indicates that genetic images are inherited and undergo gradual modification during evolutionary processes. The phenomenon of inheritance and modification of genetic images suggests that evolution tends to change the already existing functionalities of organisms, which allows for the ordering of organisms belonging to different species from ancient forms, through species that appeared successively during evolution, to those belonging to species that have developed more recently, up to Homo sapiens. Moreover, unlike analyses based on phylogenetic trees, the method presented in this article does not require computing hypothetical taxonomic units to study evolution. Combined with analyses of the inheritance of genetic images, it can support the interpretations of phylogenetic trees and evolutionary research.