But recent evidence suggests that large changes, caused by the absorption of a chunk of alien genetic material, may be just as significant. Indeed, the absorption of entire organisms – such as the two bacteria that formed the first eukaryotic cell (the more complex cell type found in multicellular animals) – can generate large and crucial evolutionary change.
此外，新综合范式假设进化的主要动力是物种内部随机产生的微小突变。但最新的证据表明，由吸收大量外来基因物质引发的重大变化也许同样是进化的主要动力。事实上，吸收整个生命体——比如组成第一个真核细胞（通常发现于多细胞动物体内的较复杂的细胞类型）的两个细菌——可能造成重大且关键性的进化。