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Metabolic and microbial perspectives on the “evolution of evolution”
Author(s) -
Powell Russell,
O'Malley Maureen A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of experimental zoology part b: molecular and developmental evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1552-5015
pISSN - 1552-5007
DOI - 10.1002/jez.b.22898
Subject(s) - hierarchy , epistemology , biological evolution , multicellular organism , biology , evolutionary biology , social evolution , dimension (graph theory) , focus (optics) , modern evolutionary synthesis , evolution theory , three domain system , cognitive science , sociology , computer science , psychology , paleontology , philosophy , political science , stars , mathematics , law , optics , genetics , biochemistry , computer vision , physics , pure mathematics , gene , bacteria , archaea
Identifying and theorizing major turning points in the history of life generates insights into not only world‐changing evolutionary events but also the processes that bring these events about. In his treatment of these issues, Bonner identifies the evolution of sex, multicellularity, and nervous systems as enabling the “evolution of evolution,” which involves fundamental transformations in how evolution occurs. By contextualizing his framework within two decades of theorizing about major transitions in evolution, we identify some basic problems that Bonner's theory shares with much of the prevailing literature. These problems include implicit progressivism, theoretical disunity, and a limited ability to explain major evolutionary transformations. We go on to identify events and processes that are neglected by existing views. In contrast with the “vertical” focus on replication, hierarchy, and morphology that preoccupies most of the literature on major transitions, we propose a “horizontal” dimension in which metabolism and microbial innovations play a central explanatory role in understanding the broad‐scale organization of life.