Has the immune system evolved?

[FutureD0C17]

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I wasn't exactly sure where to post this...

As far as I can tell, it looks like adaptive immunity with the rise of vertebrates was the last major adaptation. Would love to hear any thoughts otherwise.

 

[Mad Jack]

There were a few different changes that occurred along the way. The development of different classes of antibodies (IgM is the original antibody, which was followed by IgA, IgE, IgD, and IgG, in no particular order) and multiple antibodies that are found in other species that are not present in humans (camelids and sharks have unique antibodies, hcIgG and IgW, respectively) has clearly shown an evolutionary path for adaptive immunity in vertebrates. That's a whole hell of a lot of adaptive evolution, really.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Mad Jack hit it off pretty well. I think recombination and the accumulation of genes that have essentially stacks and specialized igs to specific situations is very good evidence of progressive evolution. But honestly, we're not exactly evolutionary biologists here. Likewise I think the nature of how our body regulates the expression of certain things especially in immunology is more akin to having a lot of individual blocks that work well and then trying to make them all work together despite it being pretty much a sht show.

Like from it's clearly from the bottom up, not from a finished idea to a final product.