Reticulate Evolution
Reticulate Evolution

Author: Nathalie Gontier

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-07-09

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 3319163450

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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

Author: Michael L. Arnold

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 0199539588

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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

Author: M. Timothy Rabanus-Wallace

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-10-25

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 3030833836

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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.

Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics

Author: Dilip K Arora

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2006-08-15

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 0080463703

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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

Corals in Space and Time
Corals in Space and Time

Author: John Edward Norwood Veron

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780801482632

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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.

Reconstructing Evolution
Reconstructing Evolution

Author: Olivier Gascuel

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2007-06-28

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0191525987

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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.

The Routledge Handbook of Evolution and Philosophy
The Routledge Handbook of Evolution and Philosophy

Author: Richard Joyce

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-08-16

Total Pages: 569

ISBN-13: 1317655567

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In recent years, the relation between contemporary academic philosophy and evolutionary theory has become ever more active, multifaceted, and productive. The connection is a bustling two-way street. In one direction, philosophers of biology make significant contributions to theoretical discussions about the nature of evolution (such as "What is a species?"; "What is reproductive fitness?"; "Does selection operate primarily on genes?"; and "What is an evolutionary function?"). In the other direction, a broader group of philosophers appeal to Darwinian selection in an attempt to illuminate traditional philosophical puzzles (such as "How could a brain-state have representational content?"; "Are moral judgments justified?"; "Why do we enjoy fiction?"; and "Are humans invariably selfish?"). In grappling with these questions, this interdisciplinary collection includes cutting-edge examples from both directions of traffic. The thirty contributions, written exclusively for this volume, are divided into six sections: The Nature of Selection; Evolution and Information; Human Nature; Evolution and Mind; Evolution and Ethics; and Evolution, Aesthetics, and Art. Many of the contributing philosophers and psychologists are international leaders in their fields.

Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition
Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition

Author: Zvy Dubinsky

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-12-02

Total Pages: 541

ISBN-13: 9400701144

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This book covers in one volume materials scattered in hundreds of research articles, in most cases focusing on specialized aspects of coral biology. In addition to the latest developments in coral evolution and physiology, it presents chapters devoted to novel frontiers in coral reef research. These include the molecular biology of corals and their symbiotic algae, remote sensing of reef systems, ecology of coral disease spread, effects of various scenarios of global climate change, ocean acidification effects of increasing CO2 levels on coral calcification, and damaged coral reef remediation. Beyond extensive coverage of the above aspects, key issues regarding the coral organism and the reef ecosystem such as calcification, reproduction, modeling, algae, reef invertebrates, competition and fish are re-evaluated in the light of new research and emerging insights. In all chapters novel theories as well as challenges to established paradigms are introduced, evaluated and discussed. This volume is indispensible for all those involved in coral reef management and conservation.

Evolutionary Biology: Exobiology and Evolutionary Mechanisms
Evolutionary Biology: Exobiology and Evolutionary Mechanisms

Author: Pierre Pontarotti

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-07-03

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 3642382126

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This book presents 19 selected contributions to the 16th Evolutionary Biology Meeting, which took place in September 2012 in Marseilles. The aims of these annual meetings, which gather together leading evolutionary biologists and other scientists, are to promote the exchange of ideas and to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. The first chapter deals with the history of a great discovery: The first experiments on ascidian and sea urchin egg fertilization. The remaining contributions are grouped under the following categories: · Evolutionary biology concepts · Exobiology and the origin of life · Evolutionary mechanisms Offering an up-to-date overview of recent findings in the field of evolutionary biology, this book is an invaluable source of information for scientists, teachers and advanced students.