Sukachev Institute of Forest Reseach, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Science, Akademgorodok, Krasnoyarsk 660036, Russia

Abstract

Consequences derived from the synthetic theory of evolution are in contradiction with facts. The theory affirms that the evolution rate depends on gene variability, intensity of recombination and press of natural selection. It means that fecund organisms with short life cycle have to evolve very quickly. In reality the quickest evolution is observed in mammals, for example in elephants. The theory predict that evolution can not base only on mutation in the absence of recombination. But parthenogenetic and asexual species evolve very quick, and their variability is not less than that of sexual forms. Contradict to the neo-darwinism ideology, evolution takes place not only in constant environment and is often absent even in changing ecosystems. Reproductive isolation and fluctuations in population number are not sufficient conditions for the beginning of evolution changes. Numerous data show that the space of opportunities where evolving organisms can travel is constrained by morpho-functional and morpho-genetic factors more than it was considered by the synthetic theory of evolution. It means that evolution should be explained not only in terms of genome, but also using onthogenetic development of an organism and its interactions with environment. Application of organism-focused terminology is possible in the frame of the theory also based on the idea of natural selection, but providing different prognoses, sometimes opposite to the neo-darwinistic ones.