Darwin's "Tree of Life" has been "pruned" to a "Bush of Life"

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The tree of life model is losing ground to the bush of life model. This is because the bush of life model better reflects the complexity and dynamism of the history of life.

The tree of life model is a simplified representation of evolution, in which all species are descended from a single ancestor and each branch represents a separate lineage. 


Darwin's tree of life drawing

However, it is now clear that evolution is much more complex than this. For example, horizontal gene transfer (HGT) can occur, which means that genes can be transferred between different lineages. This can lead to complex evolutionary relationships that cannot be easily represented by a tree.


The bush of life model is more flexible and can accommodate the complexity of evolutionary relationships. It allows for lineages to merge and diverge again. This is more realistic than the tree of life model, which assumes that lineages only ever diverge from a single tree.

As a result of these advantages, the bush of life model is becoming increasingly popular among scientists. It is now the preferred model for many areas of evolutionary research, such as the study of early life and the diversification of complex organisms.

The bush of life model is a more accurate representation of the overall history of life.

The bush of life model of evolution is a relatively new model that challenges the traditional view of NeoDarwinian gradualism. It suggests that life arose suddenly and complex at the beginning of evolution, with many different branches arising quickly and then diversifying over time. This model is supported by evidence from phylogenetic and the fossil record, which shows that many different types of complex organisms appeared suddenly early in Earth's history.

The bush of life model shows that gradual evolution is not the correct  process in evolution. The rapid emergence of complex life at the beginning of evolution suggests that there may be other mechanisms at work, such as punctuated equilibrium or even sudden emergence.

The bush of life model is still under development, but it has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of evolution. It suggests that the history of life is much more complex and dynamic than we previously thought under NeoDarwinism.

It is important to note that the bush of life model is not universally accepted. Some scientists believe that gradualism is still the best explanation for the diversity of life on Earth. However, the bush of life model is gaining traction, and it is likely to be a major area of research in the coming years.

Overall, it seems likely that the bush of life model will eventually replace the tree of life model as the dominant model of evolution.

Ref

https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/gb-2006-7-10-118

https://biologydirect.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1745-6150-2-21

https://phys.org/news/2015-08-tree-life-bush.html

https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/37/4/1011/2410406

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2019&q=%22bush+of+life%22&hl=en&as_sdt=0,1



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