Endosymbiosis and its implications for evolutionary theory

Historically, conceptualizations of symbiosis and endosymbiosis have been pitted against Darwinian or neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory. In more recent times, Lynn Margulis has argued vigorously along these lines. However, there are only shallow grounds for finding Darwinian concepts or population genetic theory incompatible with endosymbiosis. But is population genetics sufficiently explanatory of endosymbiosis and its role in evolution? Population genetics “follows” genes, is replication-centric, and is concerned with vertically consistent genetic lineages. It may also have explanatory limitations with regard to macroevolution. Even so, asking whether population genetics explains endosymbiosis may have the question the wrong way around. We should instead be asking how explanatory of evolution endosymbiosis is, and exactly which features of evolution it might be explaining. This paper will discuss how metabolic innovations associated with endosymbioses can drive evolution and thus provide an explanatory account of important episodes in the history of life. Metabolic explanations are both proximate and ultimate, in the same way genetic explanations are. Endosymbioses, therefore, point evolutionary biology toward an important dimension of evolutionary explanation.

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Developmental biology and human evolution

Human Origins Research ◽

10.4081/hor.2011.5 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. e2

Author(s):

Jeffrey H. Schwartz

Keyword(s):

Biological Sciences ◽

Population Genetics ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Molecular Change ◽

Human Fossil ◽

Evolutionary Studies ◽

History Of ◽

Modern Evolutionary Synthesis ◽

Organismal Development ◽

Taxic Diversity

The Evolutionary or Modern Evolutionary Synthesis (here identified as the Synthesis) has been portrayed as providing the foundation for uniting a supposed disarray of biological disciplines through the lens of Darwinism fused with population genetics. Rarely acknowledged is that the Synthesis’s success was also largely due to its architects’ effectiveness in submerging British and German attempts at a synthesis by uniting the biological sciences through shared evolutionary concerns. Dobzhansky and Mayr imposed their bias toward population genetics, population (as supposedly opposed to typological) thinking, and Morgan’s conception of specific genes for specific features (here abbreviated as genes for) on human evolutionary studies. Dobzhansky declared that culture buffered humans from the whims of selection. Mayr argued that as variable as humans are now, their extinct relatives were even more variable; thus the human fossil did not present taxic diversity and all known fossils could be assembled into a gradually changing lineage of time-successive species. When Washburn centralized these biases in the new physical anthropology the fate of paleoanthropology as a non-contributor to evolutionary theory was sealed. Molecular anthropology followed suit in embracing Zuckerkandl and Pauling’s assumption that molecular change was gradual and perhaps more importantly continual. Lost in translation was and still is an appreciation of organismal development. Here I will summarize the history of these ideas and their alternatives in order to demonstrate assumptions that still need to be addressed before human evolutionary studies can more fully participate in what is a paradigm shift-in-the-making in evolutionary biology.

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Th. Dobzhansky and the development of evolutionary biology in the USSR

History of Science ◽

10.1177/0073275319827213 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 57 (3) ◽

pp. 346-371

Author(s):

Mikhail B. Konashev

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

Evolutionary Theory ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Special Role ◽

Synthetic Theory ◽

Theory Of Evolution ◽

The Soviet Union ◽

History Of

Th. Dobzhansky played a special role in the reception and development of the “synthetic theory of evolution,” as well as in the establishment of scientific connections between Soviet and U.S. evolutionists, and first and foremost, geneticists. These connections greatly influenced the development of Soviet genetics, of evolutionary theory and evolutionary biology as a whole, and in particular the restoration of Soviet genetics in the late 1960s. A discussion of Dobzhansky’s correspondence and collaboration with colleagues in his native country, moreover, allows for an improved understanding of the complex and dramatic history of Soviet genetics and evolutionary theory. It also provides novel insights into the interactions between scientists and authorities in the Soviet Union (USSR).

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Biology and panpsychism: German evolutionists and a philosopher Theodor Ziehen (1862–1950)

Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University Philosophy and Conflict Studies ◽

10.21638/spbu17.2020.203 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 240-253

Author(s):

Georgy S. Levit ◽

◽

Uwe Hossfeld ◽

Keyword(s):

20Th Century ◽

Evolutionary Theory ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

History Of Philosophy ◽

Strong Impact ◽

Ernst Haeckel ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

History Of ◽

Biological Systematics ◽

Modern Evolutionary Synthesis

Theodor Ziehen was a prominent German psychiatrist and psychologist and a marginal philosopher of the first half of the 20th century who developed an exotic subjective-idealistic theory based on quasi-empirical psychological arguments. Although Ziehen was seen by contemporaries (most prominently by Vladimir Lenin) as a representative of the same philosophical current (empirio-criticism) as Mach and Avenarius, he never achieved their prominence in the history of philosophy. At the same time, Ziehen’s philosophy became influential in German biology, first of all, due to his direct and very strong impact on Bernhard Rensch. Rensch, in his turn, was the most significant figure on the international scene of what is known as the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis in biology. Rensch was not the only biologist influenced by Ziehen’s ideas. Ziehen had some communication with the “German Darwin” Ernst Haeckel and played a prominent role in the concept of the founder of biological systematics Willi Hennig. How to explain Ziehen’s prominent place in the history of evolutionary biology, despite his obscurity in the history of philosophy? Our hypothesis is that Ziehen became a visible figure in evolutionary theory because of the monistic bias in German biology. Ziehen’s epistemology appeared to be compatible with evolutionary monism and was developed by a practicing psychiatrist therefore obtaining a character of a quasi-experimental doctrine.

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Holobiont Evolution: Population Genetic Theory for the Hologenome

10.1101/2020.04.10.036350 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Joan Roughgarden

Keyword(s):

Population Genetic ◽

Mathematical Theory ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Genetic Theory ◽

Microbial Strains ◽

Joint Evolution

AbstractThis paper develops a mathematical theory for holobiont evolution that parallels the population-genetic theory of classical evolutionary biology. It presents theory for hologenomes having two haploid microbial strains and two diploid host alleles. The theory shows how selection on holobionts causes the joint evolution of microbial and host components of the hologenome. The theory also reveals the distribution of microbiome configurations across hosts as well as stable strategies for microbiome-host coadaptation.

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Inferring infection processes of a parasitic nematode using population genetics

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182099005417 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 120 (2) ◽

pp. 185-194 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

S. PATERSON ◽

M. C. FISHER ◽

M. E. VINEY

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Population Genetics ◽

Genetic Differentiation ◽

Population Genetic ◽

Parasitic Nematode ◽

Genetic Theory ◽

Study Population ◽

Infection Processes

The distribution of genetic differentiation in a population of the parasitic nematode Strongyloides ratti divided between rat hosts was determined. We applied population genetic theory to these data to determine the source of new infections. We estimate the rate at which a rat acquires a new infection from (a) the existing subpopulation of parasites within that rat (‘self-reinfection’) versus (b) the wider environment (‘immigration’). We find that the observed levels of genetic diversity and differentiation in the study population are consistent with low to moderate rates of self-reinfection and inconsistent with high rates of self-reinfection.

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The challenge of evolutionary biology

Social Science Information ◽

10.1177/053901899038003001 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 355-365 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Heinrich Meier

Keyword(s):

History Of Science ◽

Evolutionary Theory ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Political Theories ◽

History Of

This article focuses on the challenge posed by Darwinian evolutionary theory in two respects. It aims to show that the challenge of evolutionary biology is not simply a matter of the history of science, but retains its seriousness and urgency for contemporary thought. This becomes clear from the discussion of the extent of the Darwinian challenge to religion, politics, philosophy and even evolutionary biology itself. The challenge to religion that proves to be most fundamental is rooted in the tension between reason and revelation. The challenge to politics is twofold: (1) insofar as political theories, ideologies and concepts are based on anthropological presuppositions; and (2) insofar as the findings of evolutionary biology stand to affect the opinions of citizens regarding religion, morality and politics.

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A Primer of Population Genetics and Genomics

10.1093/oso/9780198862291.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel L. Hartl

Keyword(s):

Population Genetics ◽

Complex Traits ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Knowledge Retention ◽

Learning By Doing ◽

Human Populations ◽

Gene Drive ◽

Molecular Population Genetics ◽

Genetics And Genomics ◽

And Mathematics

A Primer of Population Genetics and Genomics, 4th edition, has been completely revised and updated to provide a concise but comprehensive introduction to the basic concepts of population genetics and genomics. Recent textbooks have tended to focus on such specialized topics as the coalescent, molecular evolution, human population genetics, or genomics. This primer bucks that trend by encouraging a broader familiarity with, and understanding of, population genetics and genomics as a whole. The overview ranges from mating systems through the causes of evolution, molecular population genetics, and the genomics of complex traits. Interwoven are discussions of ancient DNA, gene drive, landscape genetics, identifying risk factors for complex diseases, the genomics of adaptation and speciation, and other active areas of research. The principles are illuminated by numerous examples from a wide variety of animals, plants, microbes, and human populations. The approach also emphasizes learning by doing, which in this case means solving numerical or conceptual problems. The rationale behind this is that the use of concepts in problem-solving lead to deeper understanding and longer knowledge retention. This accessible, introductory textbook is aimed principally at students of various levels and abilities (from senior undergraduate to postgraduate) as well as practising scientists in the fields of population genetics, ecology, evolutionary biology, computational biology, bioinformatics, biostatistics, physics, and mathematics.

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Missing Links in the History of Life

The Paleontological Society Special Publications ◽

10.1017/s2475262200009849 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 97-118

Author(s):

Charles R. Marshall

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Theory ◽

Fossil Record ◽

Theory Of Evolution ◽

History Of ◽

Living Species

Ever since Darwin proposed his theory of evolution (or more correctly, theories; see Mayr, 1991) it has been assumed that intermediates now extinct once existed between living species. For some, the hunt for these so-called missing links in the fossil record became an obsession, a search for evidence thought needed to establish the veracity of evolutionary theory. Few modern paleontologists, however, search explicitly for ancestors in the fossil record because we now know that fossils can be used to chart the order of evolution regardless of whether they are directly ancestral either to extinct organisms or to those living today.

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Biogeography of Italy revisited: genetic lineages confirm major phylogeographic patterns and a pre-Pleistocene origin of its biota

Frontiers in Zoology ◽

10.1186/s12983-021-00418-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Schmitt ◽

Uwe Fritz ◽

Massimo Delfino ◽

Werner Ulrich ◽

Jan Christian Habel

Keyword(s):

Meta Analysis ◽

Balkan Peninsula ◽

Po Plain ◽

Genetic Lineages ◽

Biogeographic Patterns ◽

Italian Peninsula ◽

Biogeographic Pattern ◽

History Of ◽

Multiple Species ◽

Micro Plates

AbstractWarm-adapted species survived the cold stages of the past glacial-interglacial cycles in southern European peninsulas and recolonized major parts of Central and Northern Europe in the wake of postglacial warming. However, many of the genetic lineages which differentiated within these refugia predate even the Pleistocene. One of these refugia is the Italian Peninsula with its surrounding islands. In this meta-analysis, we compiled phylogeographic patterns of multiple species across this region. We transformed existing geographic information on 78 animal and plant species (with a total of 471 genetic lineages) within 17 predefined areas into presence/absence matrices. We elaborated three matrices: (i) only old lineages exclusively distinguished by deep splits, (ii) only young lineages distinguished by shallow (i.e. recent) splits, and (iii) presence/absence of the respective species. To infer biogeographic relationships between the predefined areas, we performed bootstrapped neighbour joining cluster analyses on these three matrices. In addition, we reviewed the geological history of Italy to identify causes of the observed biogeographic patterns. We found Sardinia and Corsica to be biogeographically closely linked with each other, and that they diverge strongly from all other regions. Sicily also diverges strongly from all other regions, while the intra-island differentiation was comparatively low. On the Italian mainland, Calabria exhibited the most pronounced biogeographic differentiation, often with several lineages present, resulting from old vicariance events within the region. Furthermore, southern Apulia and the Po Plain with adjoining areas of northern peninsular Italy displayed considerable distinctiveness. Admixture prevailed in the areas between these three regions. The ancient isolation of Sicily, as well as Sardinia plus Corsica, resulted in endemic lineages with only moderate recent exchange with adjacent mainland regions. Pronounced diversification occurs within the Italian Peninsula. The complex tectonic activities, such as shifting (micro)plates, submergence of major parts of peninsular Italy with the genesis of numerous Pliocene islands, in combination with the climatic cycles during the Pleistocene have most likely generated the current biogeographic pattern of species. Immigrations from the Balkan Peninsula into northern Italy partly accounted for the distinctiveness of this region.

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