Application of Morphological Trends of Evolution to Phylogenetic Interpretation of Chemotaxonomic Data

Data on the membranotropic action of triterpene glycosides from sea cucumbers (Holothurioidea,Echindermata) are used as a model for studying the evolution of biochemical adaptations. Conceptions such as the theory of modes of organogenesis, and the theory of phylembryogeneses developed by the Russian school of evolutionary morphology, and other morphological trends of evolutionary transformations of anatomical structures are applicable to the phylogenetic interpretation of chemotaxonomic data. The processes of ontogenesis and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites are compared within the framework of the theory of phylembryogeneses. The deep inner similarity of these processes are shown. Concurrence of the modes of phyembryogenesis noted by Severtsov and the principles of micromolecular evolution noted by Gottlieb and Harborne are also shown. The biological significance of presence or absence of substances, (or some features of these substances) for the whole organism that produced them is the main criterion we propose as an approach for polarization of a biochemical phylogenetic series. The application of methods of comparative anatomy to the molecular level for purposes of investigation on evolution of biomolecules and their functions could be called “chemical morphology”.