The Major Transitions in Evolution

by Maynard Smith, John; Szathmáry, Eörs

• ISBN13: 9780198502944
• ISBN10: 019850294X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-02-12
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Over the history of life there have been several major changes in the way genetic information is organized and transmitted from one generation to the next. These transitions include the origin of life itself, the first eukaryotic cells, reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperation and of animal societies, and the unique language ability of humans. This ambitious book provides the first unified discussion of the full range of these transitions. The authors highlight the similarities between different transitions--between the union of replicating molecules to form chromosomes and of cells to form multicellular organisms, for example--and show how understanding one transition sheds light on others. They trace a common theme throughout the history of evolution: after a major transition some entities lose the ability to replicate independently, becoming able to reproduce only as part of a larger whole. The authors investigate this pattern and why selection between entities at a lower level does not disrupt selection at more complex levels. Their explanation encompasses a compelling theory of the evolution of cooperation at all levels of complexity. Engagingly written and filled with numerous illustrations, this book can be read with enjoyment by anyone with an undergraduate training in biology. It is ideal for advanced discussion groups on evolution and includes accessible discussions of a wide range of topics, from molecular biology and linguistics to insect societies.

Table of Contents

List of tables	xi	(2)
Preface	xiii
1 Introduction	1	(14)
1.1 Preamble	3	(1)
1.2 The fallacy of progress	4	(1)
1.3 The measurement of complexity	5	(1)
1.4 The major transitions	6	(4)
1.5 Duplication, symbiosis and epigenesis	10	(2)
1.6 Some other features of the major transitions	12	(3)
2 What is life?	15	(10)
2.1 The definition of life	17	(1)
2.2 The Oklo reactor	18	(2)
2.3 The chemoton	20	(5)
3 Chemical evolution	25	(14)
3.1 Introduction	27	(1)
3.2 Experiments: the primitive soup	28	(4)
3.3 The hypothesis of surface metabolism: the primitive pizza	32	(1)
3.4 A logical basis for autocatalysis	33	(1)
3.5 Is chemical `evolution' evolution?	34	(1)
3.6 Evolution of metabolic networks through chemical symbiosis	35	(1)
3.7 Chemical evolution in clouds, and the extraterrestrial contribution	36	(1)
3.8 Conclusions	37	(2)
4 The evolution of templates	39	(20)
4.1 Introduction	41	(1)
4.2 Replication and nucleation	41	(3)
4.3 The accuracy of replication and the error threshold	44	(5)
4.4 The ecology and coexistence of RNA molecules	49	(2)
4.5 The hypercycle	51	(4)
4.6 The stochastic corrector model	55	(3)
4.7 Conclusions	58	(1)
5 The chicken and egg problem	59	(20)
5.1 Introduction	61	(1)
5.2 RNA as an enzyme	61	(6)
5.3 Autocatalytic protein nets	67	(5)
5.4 The urgene: RNA, clay or something else?	72	(3)
5.5 What determines the size of the genetic alphabet?	75	(4)
6 The origin of translation and the genetic code	79	(18)
6.1 Modifications of the code	81	(3)
6.2 The origin of the code I: the top-down approach	84	(5)
6.3 The origin of the code II: the bottom-up approach	89	(8)
7 The origin of protocells	97	(22)
7.1 The need for active compartmentation	99	(1)
7.2 The origin of membranogenic molecules and membranes	99	(3)
7.3 Spontaneous cell division	102	(3)
7.4 The problem of membrane transport	105	(1)
7.5 Primordial ancestry of autotrophy	106	(2)
7.6 Metabolism in ribo-organisms: the iron-sulphur world meets the RNA world	108	(1)
7.7 The evolution of specific enzymes	109	(1)
7.8 The origin of the two negibacterial membranes	110	(4)
7.9 The origin of chromosomes	114	(5)
8 The origin of eukaryotes	119	(28)
8.1 The problem	121	(3)
8.2 A possible scenario	124	(1)
8.3 The origin of intracellular membranes	125	(1)
8.4 The origin of mitosis	126	(6)
8.5 The nucleus, genome organization and the origin of introns	132	(5)
8.6 The origin of mitochondria, chloroplasts and microbodies	137	(5)
8.7 The origin of centrioles and undulipodia	142	(3)
8.8 Timing	145	(2)
9 The origin of sex and the nature of species	147	(22)
9.1 Introduction	149	(1)
9.2 Cellular mechanisms of the haploid-diploid cycle	149	(1)
9.3 Ancient haploid-diploid cycles	150	(9)
9.4 Mating types and the origin of anisogamy	159	(4)
9.5 Sex and the nature of species	163	(6)
10 Intragenomic conflict	169	(18)
10.1 Introduction	171	(1)
10.2 A fair meiosis	172	(4)
10.3 Intrachromosomal repetitive DNA	176	(6)
10.4 Avoiding conflict between organelles	182	(1)
10.5 Distortion of sex allocation	183	(4)
11 Symbiosis	187	(14)
11.1 Introduction	189	(1)
11.2 The ecology of symbiosis	189	(2)
11.3 A model	191	(4)
11.4 Modes of transmission	195	(1)
11.5 Irreversibility	196	(1)
11.6 Does symbiosis evolve towards mutualism?	196	(2)
11.7 Evolution within a host	198	(1)
11.8 Symbiosis, variability and sex	199	(2)
12 Development in simple organisms	201	(16)
12.1 The origins of development	203	(2)
12.2 The limits of self-assembly	205	(2)
12.3 The organization of gene action in time: the cell cycle	207	(1)
12.4 The `development' of a unicellular organism: budding yeast	208	(3)
12.5 The division of labour in the origin of multicellular eukaryotes: Volvox	211	(1)
12.6 Multicellularity through aggregation: myxobacteria and slime moulds	212	(2)
12.7 Two mechanisms of cell differentiation	214	(3)
13 Gene regulation and cell heredity	217	(8)
13.1 Gene regulation	219	(1)
13.2 Cell heredity	220	(3)
13.3 What had to be invented?	223	(2)
14 The development of spatial patterns	225	(16)
14.1 Flower development as an example of morphogenesis	227	(2)
14.2 Positional information: external specification or self-organization?	229	(5)
14.3 Positional information in Drosophila and the chick	234	(1)
14.4 Segmentation as an example of further elaboration	235	(3)
14.5 From Cartesian to polar coordinates: the generation of proximodistal structures	238	(3)
15 Development and evolution	241	(14)
15.1 Introduction	243	(1)
15.2 Development and the levels of selection	244	(3)
15.3 Cell heredity and the inheritance of acquired characters	247	(3)
15.4 Gene homology in development	250	(2)
15.5 The zootype and the definition of animals	252	(3)
16 The origins of societies	255	(24)
16.1 Introduction	257	(1)
16.2 The evolution of cooperation	258	(5)
16.3 Kinds of animal society	263	(1)
16.4 The genetics of insect sociality	264	(4)
16.5 The division of labour in animal societies	268	(2)
16.6 Factors predisposing insects to sociality	270	(1)
16.7 The origins of human society	271	(8)
17 The origin of language	279	(32)
17.1 Introduction	281	(2)
17.2 Language and representation	283	(3)
17.3 Some features of syntax	286	(3)
17.4 Language acquisition	289	(1)
17.5 Natural selection for language	290	(3)
17.6 Tool use and language: hierarchically organized sequential behaviour	293	(7)
17.7 Brain damage and language disorders	300	(1)
17.8 The genetics of language disorders	301	(2)
17.9 Protolanguage	303	(2)
17.10 From protolanguage to language	305	(3)
17.11 Conclusions	308	(3)
References	311	(24)
Author index	335	(8)
Subject index	343