Reticulate Evolution

Reticulate Evolution PDF Author: Nathalie Gontier
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319163450
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
Written for non-experts, this volume introduces the mechanisms that underlie reticulate evolution. Chapters are either accompanied with glossaries that explain new terminology or timelines that position pioneering scholars and their major discoveries in their historical contexts. The contributing authors outline the history and original context of discovery of symbiosis, symbiogenesis, lateral gene transfer, hybridization or divergence with gene flow and infectious heredity. By applying key insights from the areas of molecular (phylo)genetics, microbiology, virology, ecology, systematics, immunology, epidemiology and computational science, they demonstrate how reticulate evolution impacts successful survival, fitness and speciation. Reticulate evolution brings forth a challenge to the standard Neo-Darwinian framework, which defines life as the outcome of bifurcation and ramification patterns brought forth by the vertical mechanism of natural selection. Reticulate evolution puts forward a pattern in the tree of life that is characterized by horizontal mergings and lineage crossings induced by symbiosis, symbiogenesis, lateral gene transfer, hybridization or divergence with gene flow and infective heredity, making the “tree of life” look more like a “web of life.” On an epistemological level, the various means by which hereditary material can be transferred horizontally challenges our classic notions of units and levels of evolution, fitness, modes of transmission, linearity, communities and biological individuality. The case studies presented examine topics including the origin of the eukaryotic cell and its organelles through symbiogenesis; the origin of algae through primary and secondary symbiosis and dinoflagellates through tertiary symbiosis; the superorganism and holobiont as units of evolution; how endosymbiosis induces speciation in multicellular life forms; transferrable and non-transferrable plasmids and how they symbiotically interact with their host; the means by which pro- and eukaryotic organisms transfer genes laterally (bacterial transformation, transduction and conjugation as well as transposons and other mobile genetic elements); hybridization and divergence with gene flow in sexually-reproducing individuals; current (human) microbiome and viriome studies that impact our knowledge concerning the evolution of organismal health and acquired immunity; and how symbiosis and symbiogenesis can be modelled in computational evolution.

Reticulate Evolution

Reticulate Evolution PDF Author: Nathalie Gontier
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319163450
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
Written for non-experts, this volume introduces the mechanisms that underlie reticulate evolution. Chapters are either accompanied with glossaries that explain new terminology or timelines that position pioneering scholars and their major discoveries in their historical contexts. The contributing authors outline the history and original context of discovery of symbiosis, symbiogenesis, lateral gene transfer, hybridization or divergence with gene flow and infectious heredity. By applying key insights from the areas of molecular (phylo)genetics, microbiology, virology, ecology, systematics, immunology, epidemiology and computational science, they demonstrate how reticulate evolution impacts successful survival, fitness and speciation. Reticulate evolution brings forth a challenge to the standard Neo-Darwinian framework, which defines life as the outcome of bifurcation and ramification patterns brought forth by the vertical mechanism of natural selection. Reticulate evolution puts forward a pattern in the tree of life that is characterized by horizontal mergings and lineage crossings induced by symbiosis, symbiogenesis, lateral gene transfer, hybridization or divergence with gene flow and infective heredity, making the “tree of life” look more like a “web of life.” On an epistemological level, the various means by which hereditary material can be transferred horizontally challenges our classic notions of units and levels of evolution, fitness, modes of transmission, linearity, communities and biological individuality. The case studies presented examine topics including the origin of the eukaryotic cell and its organelles through symbiogenesis; the origin of algae through primary and secondary symbiosis and dinoflagellates through tertiary symbiosis; the superorganism and holobiont as units of evolution; how endosymbiosis induces speciation in multicellular life forms; transferrable and non-transferrable plasmids and how they symbiotically interact with their host; the means by which pro- and eukaryotic organisms transfer genes laterally (bacterial transformation, transduction and conjugation as well as transposons and other mobile genetic elements); hybridization and divergence with gene flow in sexually-reproducing individuals; current (human) microbiome and viriome studies that impact our knowledge concerning the evolution of organismal health and acquired immunity; and how symbiosis and symbiogenesis can be modelled in computational evolution.

Reticulate Evolution and Humans

Reticulate Evolution and Humans PDF Author: Michael L. Arnold
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199539588
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
This book describes the important role that the transfer of genes between organisms has played during the origin and evolution of humans, and the evolution of organisms on which the human species depends for shelter, sustenance and companionship.

The Rye Genome

The Rye Genome PDF Author: M. Timothy Rabanus-Wallace
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030833836
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
This book celebrates the dawn of the rye genomics era with concise, comprehensive, and accessible reviews on the current state of rye genomic research, written by experts in the field for students, researchers and growers. To most, rye is the key ingredient in a flavoursome bread or their favourite American whisky. To a farmer, rye is the remarkable grain that tolerates the harshest winters and the most unforgiving soils, befitting its legacy as the life-giving seed that fed the ancient civilisations of northern Eurasia. Since the mid-1900s, scientists have employed genetic approaches to better understand and utilize rye, but only since the technological advances of the mid-2010s has the possibility of addressing questions using rye genome assemblies become a reality. Alongside the secret of its unique survival abilities, rye genomics has accelerated research on a host of intriguing topics such as the complex history of rye’s domestication by humans, the nature of genes that switch fertility on and off, the function and origin of accessory chromosomes, and the evolution of selfish DNA.

Evolution through Genetic Exchange

Evolution through Genetic Exchange PDF Author: Michael L Arnold
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019152462X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Even before the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species, the perception of evolutionary change has been a tree-like pattern of diversification - with divergent branches spreading further and further from the trunk. In the only illustration of Darwin's treatise, branches large and small never reconnect. However, it is now evident that this view does not adequately encompass the richness of evolutionary pattern and process. Instead, the evolution of species from microbes to mammals builds like a web that crosses and re-crosses through genetic exchange, even as it grows outward from a point of origin. Some of the avenues for genetic exchange, for example introgression through sexual recombination versus lateral gene transfer mediated by transposable elements, are based on definably different molecular mechanisms. However, even such widely different genetic processes may result in similar effects on adaptations (either new or transferred), genome evolution, population genetics, and the evolutionary/ecological trajectory of organisms. For example, the evolution of novel adaptations (resulting from lateral gene transfer) leading to the flea-borne, deadly, causative agent of plague from a rarely-fatal, orally-transmitted, bacterial species is quite similar to the adaptations accrued from natural hybridization between annual sunflower species resulting in the formation of several new species. Thus, more and more data indicate that evolution has resulted in lineages consisting of mosaics of genes derived from different ancestors. It is therefore becoming increasingly clear that the tree is an inadequate metaphor of evolutionary change. In this book, Arnold promotes the 'web-of-life' metaphor as a more appropriate representation of evolutionary change in all lifeforms. This research level text is suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate level students taking related courses in departments of genetics, ecology and evolution. It will also be of relevance and use to professional evolutionary biologists and systematists seeking a comprehensive and authoritative overview of this rapidly expanding field.

The Theory of Evolution

The Theory of Evolution PDF Author: Samuel M. Scheiner
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022667116X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
Darwin’s nineteenth-century writings laid the foundations for modern studies of evolution, and theoretical developments in the mid-twentieth century fostered the Modern Synthesis. Since that time, a great deal of new biological knowledge has been generated, including details of the genetic code, lateral gene transfer, and developmental constraints. Our improved understanding of these and many other phenomena have been working their way into evolutionary theory, changing it and improving its correspondence with evolution in nature. And while the study of evolution is thriving both as a basic science to understand the world and in its applications in agriculture, medicine, and public health, the broad scope of evolution—operating across genes, whole organisms, clades, and ecosystems—presents a significant challenge for researchers seeking to integrate abundant new data and content into a general theory of evolution. This book gives us that framework and synthesis for the twenty-first century. The Theory of Evolution presents a series of chapters by experts seeking this integration by addressing the current state of affairs across numerous fields within evolutionary biology, ranging from biogeography to multilevel selection, speciation, and macroevolutionary theory. By presenting current syntheses of evolution’s theoretical foundations and their growth in light of new datasets and analyses, this collection will enhance future research and understanding.

Understanding plant diversity and evolution in the mediterranean basin

Understanding plant diversity and evolution in the mediterranean basin PDF Author: Nico Cellinese
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832521967
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description


Reconstructing Evolution

Reconstructing Evolution PDF Author: Olivier Gascuel
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191525987
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
Evolution is a complex process, acting at multiple scales, from DNA sequences and proteins to populations of species. Understanding and reconstructing evolution is of major importance in numerous subfields of biology. For example, phylogenetics and sequence evolution is central to comparative genomics, attempts to decipher genomes, and molecular epidemiology. Phylogenetics is also the focal point of large-scale international biodiversity assessment initiatives such as the 'Tree of Life' project, which aims to build the evolutionary tree for all extant species. Since the pioneering work in phylogenetics in the 1960s, models have become increasingly sophisticated to account for the inherent complexity of evolution. They rely heavily on mathematics and aim at modelling and analyzing biological phenomena such as horizontal gene transfer, heterogeneity of mutation, and speciation and extinction processes. This book presents these recent models, their biological relevance, their mathematical basis, their properties, and the algorithms to infer them from data. A number of subfields from mathematics and computer science are involved: combinatorics, graph theory, stringology, probabilistic and Markov models, information theory, statistical inference, Monte Carlo methods, continuous and discrete algorithmics. This book arises from the Mathematics of Evolution & Phylogenetics meeting at the Mathematical Institute Henri Poincaré, Paris, in June 2005 and is based on the outstanding state-of-the-art reports presented by the conference speakers. Ten chapters - based around five themes - provide a detailed overview of key topics, from the underlying concepts to the latest results, some of which are at the forefront of current research.

Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics PDF Author: Dilip K Arora
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080463703
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
The advances in genomic technologies, such as microarrays and high throughput sequencing,have expanded the realm of possibilities for capturing data and analyzing it using automatedcomputer driven bioinformatics tools. With the completion of the sequencing of genomes ofhuman and several model organisms, a quest for scientific discoveries being fueled byintegrative and multidimensional techniques in mathematics and computational sciences. Inthis volume, leading researchers and experts have provided an overview of significantconcepts from biological, mathematical, and computational perspectives. It provides a high level view of fungal genomic data integration and annotation, classification of proteins and identification of vaccine targets, identification of secretome or secreted proteins in fungal genomes, as well as tools for analyzing microarray expressionprofiles. Provides a survey of theoretical underpinnings on the technological tools and applications Discusses the tools utilized for the annotation of fungal genomes and addresses issues related to automated annotation generation in a high throughput biotechnology environment Describes the applications of the concepts and methodologies presented throughout the book

Evolution and Diversification of Land Plants

Evolution and Diversification of Land Plants PDF Author: Kunio Iwatsuki
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 4431659188
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
A modern approach to understanding the evolution and diversification of land plants, one of the most exciting areas of plant systematics. It consists of three sections - origin and diversification of primitive land plants; origin and diversification of angiosperms; speciation and mechanisms of diversification - each section corresponding to a major area in plant evolution. In each case, data from molecular, morphological, and paleontological approaches are presented, backed by recent progress and new findings, together with proposals for future research. A guide to the latest in plant systematics, heightening awareness of prospective future problems.

Corals in Space and Time

Corals in Space and Time PDF Author: John Edward Norwood Veron
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780801482632
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
As concerns about the change in global climate and the loss of biodiversity have mounted, attention has focused on the depletion of the ozone layer and the destruction of tropical rainforests. But recently scientists have identified another seriously endangered ecosystem: coral reefs. In Corals in Space and Time, J.E.N. Veron provides a richly detailed study of corals that will inform investigations of these fragile ecosystems. Drawing on twenty-five years of research, Veron brings together extensive field observations about the taxonomy, biogeography, paleontology, and biology of corals. After introducing coral taxonomy and biogeography, as well as relevant aspects of coral biology for the non-specialist, he provides an interpretation of the fossil record and paleoclimates, an analysis of modern coral distribution, and a discussion of the evolutionary nature and origins of coral species. Revealing a sharp conflict between empirical observations about the geographical variation within species, Veron introduces a non-Darwinian theory of coral evolution. He proposes that the evolution of coral species is driven not primarily by natural selection, but by constantly shifting patterns of ocean circulation, which produce changing variations of genetic connectivity. This mechanism of speciation and hybridization has far-reaching consequences for the study of all types of corals and potentially many other groups of organisms as well.