Summary
Richard Lewontin argues that evolutionary theory must account for the evolution of the genome as a whole, rather than focusing on the independent evolution of individual genes. He highlights that while molecular techniques have revealed immense hereditary variation and quantified genetic changes in speciation, current population genetic theory is inadequate to explain the origin and maintenance of this variation or how adaptive evolution utilizes it. Lewontin suggests that existing theories yield conflicting conclusions regarding the forces acting on genetic variation, necessitating new theoretical approaches.
This book surveys experiments in molecular evolution, presenting findings on the wealth of hereditary variation and genetic changes in species origin. It identifies limitations in current theory concerning the explanation of variation's origins and maintenance, and challenges the focus on individual gene evolution. Readers will understand the need for theories that consider the genome's integrated evolution and the inadequacy of current models to interpret the abundant molecular data.
Key concepts
- Hereditary variation — The vast amount of differences in heritable traits among individuals revealed by molecular techniques.
- Genetic changes in speciation — The quantifiable alterations in genetic material that occur during the formation of new species.
- Population genetic theory — Existing theoretical frameworks used to understand the forces acting on genetic variation within populations.
- Evolution of the genome as a whole — The proposed necessity for theoretical models to consider the genome's collective evolutionary trajectory, not just individual genes.
- Molecular evolution — The rapidly growing scientific field that studies evolutionary changes at the molecular level.
From the book
Description: In this volume the author surveys the many experiments using new molecular techniques that have revealed the enormous wealth of hereditary variation among individuals and have quantified the genetic changes that take place in the origin of new species. Dr. Lewontin proposes new theories to attack the problems which still confront the scientist. While a tremendous amount of variation has been revealed, a satisfactory explanation of the origin and maintenance of such variation is still lacking. It is not at all clear whether adaptive evolution makes use of the kind of genetic diversity that is now known to be so common. Populatin genetic theory, Dr. Lewontin observes, leads to conflicting conclusions about the forces operating on the variation, and it appears that current…
Snippet: In this volume the author surveys the many experiments using new molecular techniques that have revealed the enormous wealth of hereditary variation among individuals and have quantified the genetic changes that take place in the origin of ...