Contemporary Issues in Genetics and Evolution – serie

In the summer of 1992 a group of molecular, population and evolutionary geneticists assembled on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, USA, to discuss the relevance of their research to the role played by transposable elements (TEs) in evolution. The meeting consisted of a series of informal discussions of issues brought up in papers written by the participants and distributed among them prior to the meeting. These papers and the transcripts of the ensuing discussions are presented in this volume.

This volume comprises a collection of papers and transcribed discussions from a conference held in Tempe, Arizona in June 1993. The contents represent a wide range of contributions, from the empirical to the theoretical, and include methods for measuring developmental instability across a variety of taxa and traits. Contrasting views on how to assess developmental instability are included, and the relationship of instability to genotypic factors, environmental factors and the action of natural and sexual selection is addressed. Readers should derive a working knowledge of the best way to assess developmental instability and should be able to design future work in an authoritative way.

The study of ageing has recently been transformed by the application of tools and ideas from genetics and evolution. This development began in 1980, and has since been gathering momentum. This volume collects most of the principles contributing to this new direction in ageing research. Additionally the book incorporates elements from both molecular genetics and evolutionary genetics, uniting two divergent strategies in the study of ageing. Some of the book's articles are more molecular, and some are more evolutionary in their orientation, while other contributions combine both approaches. The book should thus be of broad interest through all "levels" of biology, from molecular biology to evolution biology. The phylogenetic diversity covered by the articles is also fairly great: from yeast to plants, nematodes to Drosophila, and rodents to man. Nonetheless, there is a unity in the treatment, with questions like mutation-accumulation, number of loci, and the possibility of postponing ageing arising repeatedly throughout the discussions of particular taxonomic groups. This volume should be a good starting place for graduate students interested in biological ageing research.It is also a convenient collection for research workers in the area, who may need to track down an important idea or result. Finally, the book as a whole provides a bracing overview of biological ageing.

The ongoing debate on the use of DNA profiles to identify perpetrators in criminal investigations or fathers in paternity disputes has too often been conducted with no regard to sound statistical, genetic or legal reasoning. The contributors to this text have considerable experience in forensic science, statistical genetics or jurimetrics, and many of them have had to explain the scientific issues involved in using DNA profiles to judges and juries. Although the authors hold differing views on some of the issues, they have all produced accounts which pay due attention to the issues of independence of components of the profiles and of population substructures.

Despite enormous efforts, over 100,000 papers and over $22 billion spent by the US taxpayer alone, the HIV-AIDS hypothesis has failed to produce any public health benefits, no vaccine, no effective drug, no prevention, no cure, not a single life saved. Is the science system to be blamed? Has science failed to reveal the truth about AIDS? In this text, two dozen scientists, scholars and journalists have investigated the status quo of AIDS research. Most of them have questioned the HIV-AIDS hypothesis before, but have since been censored, and sociologically excluded from AIDS research, politics and journalism. There are those who acquit HIV entirely. Others who make a case for HIV as a necessary, but not a sufficient cause of AIDS. Then one medical scientist who, together with the huge AIDS literature, defends the hypothesis that HIV is sufficient to cause AIDS. The book reveals that the scientific method could very well find a solution to AIDS, but only if ideas can be exchanged freely and if the HIV monopoly can be broken.It illustrates that the solution to AIDS could be as close as one of several, very testable and very affordable alternatives to the unproductive HIV-AIDS hypothesis.

The existence of transposable elements was implied by Barbara McClintock in the 1940s, based on genetic experiments, and verified in the 1970s by molecular biology. By the late 1990s, hundreds of elements have been detected in all living organisms and are believed to represent more than 15% of every organism's genome. Major questions remain to be answered concerning how transposable elements have evolved within the context of interacting host genomes. These questions are of great interest because transposable elements may have had a significant impact on the evolution of host genome structure and the ability of populations and species to successfully adapt to their environments. In this book, complementary aspects of the evolution impact of transposable elements are discussed in papers presented by participants of the ESF workshop entitled Evolution and Role of Transposable Elements which was held at CNRS in Gif-sur-Yvette, France in September 1996.

Although debated since the time of Darwin, the evolutionary role of mutation is still controversial. In over 40 chapters from leading authorities in mutation and evolutionary biology, this book takes a new look at both the theoretical and experimental measurement and significance of new mutation. Deleterious, nearly neutral, beneficial, and polygenic mutations are considered in their effects on fitness, life history traits, and the composition of the gene pool. Mutation is a phenomenon that draws attention from many different disciplines. Thus, the extensive reviews of the literature will be valuable both to established researchers and to those just beginning to study this field. Through up-to-date reviews, the authors provide an insightful overview of each topic and then share their newest ideas and explore controversial aspects of mutation and the evolutionary process. From topics like gonadal mosaicism and mutation clusters to adaptive mutagenesis, mutation in cell organelles, and the level and distribution of DNA molecular changes, the foundation is set for continuing the debate about the role of mutation, fitness, and adaptability. It is a debate that will have profound consequences for our understanding of evolution.

From guppies to Galapagos finches and from adaptive landscapes to haldanes, this compilation of contributed works provides reviews, perspectives, theoretical models, statistical developments, and empirical demonstrations exploring the tempo and mode of microevolution on contemporary to geological time scales. Developments, and reviews, of classic and novel empirical systems demonstrate the strength and diversity of evolutionary processes producing biodiversity within species. Perspectives and theoretical insights expand these empirical observations to explore patterns and mechanisms of microevolution, methods for its quantification, and implications for the evolution of biodiversity on other scales.

Genetic studies aimed at understanding the origin of species are dominating major scientific journals. During the 1990s, genetic tools that were previously available only in model systems have become accessible to investigators working on nearly all species. Concurrent with these technical advances has been an increase in understanding of both the importance of considering the ecological context of speciation and testing hypotheses about causes for species formation. Many studies suggest a prominent role of sexual selection in species formation. These advances have produced a need for a synthesis of what we now understand about speciation, and perhaps more importantly, where we should go from here. In this volume, several leading investigators and rising stars have contributed reviews and/or novel primary research findings aimed at understanding the ultimate mystery on which Darwin named his most famous and influential book. Fundamental to the idea of the origin of species is the evolution of mate choice systems.This collection of papers discusses burgeoning genetic, evolutionary, and ecological approaches to understanding the origins of mating discrimination and causes of premating reproductive isolation both within and between species. The individual contributions span a wide spectrum of disciplines, taxa, and ideas (some of which are controversial).

This work addresses the origin and evolution of new gene functions. Although interest in evolutionary novelties can be traced back to the time of Darwin, the appreciation and systematical experimental pursuit of the origin and evolution of new gene functions did not appear until the early 1990s. Sixteen chapters from pioneers and leading scientists in this emerging field provide overviews of how new genes with novel functions originated and evolved. Broad issues related to new gene evolution are analyzed, ranging from molecular mechanisms to population genetics to theoretical conjecture of the minimum building blocks for protein diversity. Both insightful reviews and original results of theoretical and experimental analyses are presented, which should be valuable for researchers and students in further pursuit of the field of new gene evolution.

Comparison of closely related species is a powerful D. melanogaster. In D. melanogaster, microsatel- approach to understanding the changes that have oc- lites reveal that West African popUlations are more curred since their divergence from a common ancestor. closely related to non-African populations than to The sibling species Drosophila melanogaster and D. East African popUlations. East African populations are simulans are probably the species pair for which the more variable than West African or non-African popu- most genetic data are available. A workshop held at lations, suggesting that East African populations may 1 Gif/Yvette in January 2002 reviewed and discussed more closely reflect African ancestral variability. comparisons between these species, from their ecol- Ecophysiology, popUlation dynamics and popula- tion structure are also important to understanding the ogy and biogeography to their behavior and DNA evolution of the two species. Genetic diversity (8) polymorphism. is higher in D. simulans (S. Mousset and R. Singh).

The study of aging has recently been transformed by the application of tools and ideas from genetics and evolution. This development began in 1980, and has since been gathering momentum. The present volume collects most of the principles contributing to this new direction in aging research. Additionally the book incorporates elements from both molecular genetics and evolutionary genetics, uniting two divergent strategies in the study of aging. Some of the book's articles are more molecular, and some are more evolutionary in their orientation, some contributions combine both approaches in a way that has rarely been seen. The book will thus be of broad interest through all 'levels' of biology, from molecular biology to evolutionary biology. The phylogenetic diversity covered by the articles is also fairly great: from yeast to plants, nematodes to Drosophila, and rodents to man. Nonetheless, there is a unity to the treatment, with questions like mutation-accumulation, number of loci, and the possibility of postponing aging arising repeatedly throughout the discussions of particular taxonomic groups.There are few better starting places for graduate students interested in biological aging research than this volume. It is also a convenient collection for research workers in the area, who may need to track down an important idea or result. Finally, the book as a whole provides a bracing overview of biological aging.

Comparison of closely related species is a powerful D. melanogaster. In D. melanogaster, microsatel- approach to understanding the changes that have oc- lites reveal that West African popUlations are more curred since their divergence from a common ancestor. closely related to non-African populations than to The sibling species Drosophila melanogaster and D. East African popUlations. East African populations are simulans are probably the species pair for which the more variable than West African or non-African popu- most genetic data are available. A workshop held at lations, suggesting that East African populations may 1 Gif/Yvette in January 2002 reviewed and discussed more closely reflect African ancestral variability. comparisons between these species, from their ecol- Ecophysiology, popUlation dynamics and popula- tion structure are also important to understanding the ogy and biogeography to their behavior and DNA evolution of the two species. Genetic diversity (8) polymorphism. is higher in D. simulans (S. Mousset and R. Singh).

From guppies to Galapagos finches and from adaptive landscapes to haldanes, this compilation of contributed works provides reviews, perspectives, theoretical models, statistical developments, and empirical demonstrations exploring the tempo and mode of microevolution on contemporary to geological time scales.

Genetic studies aimed at understanding the origin of species are dominating major scientific journals. This collection of papers discusses burgeoning genetic, evolutionary, and ecological approaches to understanding the origins of mating discrimination and causes of premating reproductive isolation both within and between species.

In the second phase of new gene evolution, conventional models of new gene evolution, and systematical experimental pursuit of the origin and evolution of new gene functions did not appear for example by gene duplication, held that the muta­ until the early years of last decade.

Developmental Instability: Its Origins and Evolutionary Implications is a collection of papers and transcribed discussions from a conference held in Tempe, Arizona in June 1993. The papers represent a wide range of contributions, from the empirical to the theoretical, and include methods for measuring developmental instability across a variety of taxa and traits. This volume presents contrasting views on how to assess developmental instability as well as on the relationship of instability to genotypic factors, environmental factors and the action of natural and sexual selection. Readers will derive a working knowledge of the best way to assess developmental instability and will be able to design future work in an authoritative way.

In the summer of 1992 a distinguished group of molecular, population and evolutionary geneticists assembled on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, USA to discuss the relevance of their research to the role played by transposable elements (TEs) in evolution. The meeting consisted of a series of informal discussions of issues brought up in papers written by the participants and distributed among them prior to the meeting. These papers and the transcripts of the ensuing discussions are presented in this volume.

During the last 50 years, the perception oftransposable elements (TEs) has changed considerably from selfish DNA to sequences that may contribute significantly to genome function and evolution. (iii) TEs can influence the regulation of other TEs by insertion or deletion;

From topics like gonadal mosaicism and mutation clusters to adaptive mutagenesis, mutation in cell organelles, and the level and distribution of DNA molecular changes, the foundation is set for continuing the debate about the role of mutation, fitness, and adaptability.