Methane is a key compound in the global carbon cycle that influences both nutrient cycling and the Earth's climate. A limited number of microorganisms control the flux of biologically generated ...methane, including methane-metabolizing archaea that either produce or consume methane. Methanogenic and methanotrophic archaea belonging to the phylum Euryarchaeota share a genetically similar, interrelated pathway for methane metabolism. The key enzyme in this pathway, the methyl-coenzyme M reductase (Mcr) complex, catalyses the last step in methanogenesis and the first step in methanotrophy. The discovery of mcr and divergent mcr-like genes in new euryarchaeotal lineages and novel archaeal phyla challenges long-held views of the evolutionary origin of this metabolism within the Euryarchaeota. Divergent mcr-like genes have recently been shown to oxidize short-chain alkanes, indicating that these complexes have evolved to metabolize substrates other than methane. In this Review, we examine the diversity, metabolism and evolutionary history of mcr-containing archaea in light of these recent discoveries.
The first animals evolved from an unknown single-celled ancestor in the Precambrian period. Recently, the identification and characterization of the genomic and cellular traits of the protists most ...closely related to animals have shed light on the origin of animals. Comparisons of animals with these unicellular relatives allow us to reconstruct the first evolutionary steps towards animal multicellularity. Here, we review the results of these investigations and discuss their implications for understanding the earliest stages of animal evolution, including the origin of metazoan genes and genome function.
Evolution occurs in populations of reproducing individuals. The structure of a population can affect which traits evolve. Understanding evolutionary game dynamics in structured populations remains ...difficult. Mathematical results are known for special structures in which all individuals have the same number of neighbours. The general case, in which the number of neighbours can vary, has remained open. For arbitrary selection intensity, the problem is in a computational complexity class that suggests there is no efficient algorithm. Whether a simple solution for weak selection exists has remained unanswered. Here we provide a solution for weak selection that applies to any graph or network. Our method relies on calculating the coalescence times of random walks. We evaluate large numbers of diverse population structures for their propensity to favour cooperation. We study how small changes in population structure-graph surgery-affect evolutionary outcomes. We find that cooperation flourishes most in societies that are based on strong pairwise ties.
Nelson and Winter (2005) "An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change", as well as important contributions to organizational studies in general, provide the basis for a comprehensive debate about the ...concept of Organizational Routines. In this review, we highlight the role of the RO concept as one of the foundations of evolutionary theory, whose assumption is that an organization can at any moment incorporate way of doing things and determine what should be done, contrary to the orthodox notions of aptitudes and choices. In the perspective of evolutionary theory, the RO concept appropriates, together with its own stability to a routine, a dynamic dimension necessary for survival in the hostile environment of the market. After presenting some of the fundamentals of the RO concept associated with the work in focus, this review associates the contribution of other studies and authors with the topic to the debate. Finally, a review of recent literature on the subject from the Web of Science source further highlights the timeliness and relevance of the concept in today's business environment. Keywords: Organizational Routines; Business Behaviors; Evolutionary Theory; Organizational Studies. A obra "Uma Teoria Evolucionaria da Mudanca Economica" de Nelson e Winter (2005), alem de importantes contribuicoes para os estudos organizacionais em geral, apresenta as bases de um debate abrangente acerca do conceito de Rotinas Organizacionais (RO). Nesta resenha, destacamos o papel do conceito de RO como um dos fundamentos da teoria evolucionaria, cujo pressuposto e que uma organizacao pode a qualquer momento incorporar maneira de fazer coisas e determinar o que deve ser feito, contrariando as nocoes ortodoxas de aptidoes e de escolhas. Na perspectiva da Teoria Evolucionaria, o conceito de RO apropria, juntamente com a estabilidade propria a uma rotina, uma dimensao dinamica necessaria a sobrevivencia no ambiente hostil do mercado. Apos a apresentacao de alguns dos fundamentos do conceito de RO associados a obra em foco, esta resenha associa ao debate a contribuicao de outros estudos e autores sobre o tema. Finalmente, uma revisao da literatura recente sobre o tema a partir da fonte Web of Science, evidencia ainda mais a oportunidade e pertinencia do conceito no atual ambiente empresarial. Palavras chaves: Rotinas Organizacionais; Comportamentos Empresariais; Teoria Evolucionaria; Estudos Organizacionais. La obra "Una Teoria Evolucionaria del Cambio Economico" de Nelson e Invierno (2005), ademas de importantes contribuciones a los estudios organizacionales en general, presenta las bases de un debate exhaustivo sobre el concepto de Rutinas Organizacionales (RO). En esta resena, destacamos el papel del concepto de RO como uno de los fundamentos de la teoria evolutiva, cuyo supuesto es que una organizacion puede en cualquier momento incorporar manera de hacer cosas y determinar que debe hacerse, contrariando las nociones ortodoxas de aptitudes y de elecciones . En la perspectiva de la Teoria Evolucionaria, el concepto de RO apropia, junto con la estabilidad propia a una rutina, una dimension dinamica necesaria para la supervivencia en el ambiente hostil del mercado. Despues de la presentacion de algunos de los fundamentos del concepto de RO asociados a la obra en foco, esta resena asocia al debate la contribucion de otros estudios y autores sobre el tema. Finalmente, una revision de la literatura reciente sobre el tema a partir de la fuente Web of Science, evidencia aun mas la oportunidad y pertinencia del concepto en el actual ambiente empresarial. Palabras claves: Rutinas Organizacionales; Comportamiento Empresarial; Teoria Evolucionaria; Estudios Organizacionales.
Nelson and Winter (2005) "An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change", as well as important contributions to organizational studies in general, provide the basis for a comprehensive debate about the ...concept of Organizational Routines. In this review, we highlight the role of the RO concept as one of the foundations of evolutionary theory, whose assumption is that an organization can at any moment incorporate way of doing things and determine what should be done, contrary to the orthodox notions of aptitudes and choices. In the perspective of evolutionary theory, the RO concept appropriates, together with its own stability to a routine, a dynamic dimension necessary for survival in the hostile environment of the market. After presenting some of the fundamentals of the RO concept associated with the work in focus, this review associates the contribution of other studies and authors with the topic to the debate. Finally, a review of recent literature on the subject from the Web of Science source further highlights the timeliness and relevance of the concept in today's business environment.
The ancestors of Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium herbaceum provided the A subgenome for the modern cultivated allotetraploid cotton. Here, we upgraded the G. arboreum genome assembly by integrating ...different technologies. We resequenced 243 G. arboreum and G. herbaceum accessions to generate a map of genome variations and found that they are equally diverged from Gossypium raimondii. Independent analysis suggested that Chinese G. arboreum originated in South China and was subsequently introduced to the Yangtze and Yellow River regions. Most accessions with domestication-related traits experienced geographic isolation. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified 98 significant peak associations for 11 agronomically important traits in G. arboreum. A nonsynonymous substitution (cysteine-to-arginine substitution) of GaKASIII seems to confer substantial fatty acid composition (C16:0 and C16:1) changes in cotton seeds. Resistance to fusarium wilt disease is associated with activation of GaGSTF9 expression. Our work represents a major step toward understanding the evolution of the A genome of cotton.
Mathematical modelling is widely used in ecology and evolutionary biology and it is a topic that many biologists find difficult to grasp. In this new textbook Marc Mangel provides a no-nonsense ...introduction to the skills needed to understand the principles of theoretical and mathematical biology. Fundamental theories and applications are introduced using numerous examples from current biological research, complete with illustrations to highlight key points. Exercises are also included throughout the text to show how theory can be applied and to test knowledge gained so far. Suitable for advanced undergraduate courses in theoretical and mathematical biology, this book forms an essential resource for anyone wanting to gain an understanding of theoretical ecology and evolution.
Debating Design Dembski, William A; Ruse, Michael
07/2004
eBook
In this book, first published in 2004, William Dembski, Michael Ruse, and other prominent philosophers provide a comprehensive balanced overview of the debate concerning biological origins - a ...controversial dialectic since Darwin published The Origin of Species in 1859. Invariably, the source of controversy has been 'design'. Is the appearance of design in organisms (as exhibited in their functional complexity) the result of purely natural forces acting without prevision or teleology? Or, does the appearance of design signify genuine prevision and teleology, and, if so, is that design empirically detectable and thus open to scientific inquiry? Four main positions have emerged in response to these questions: Darwinism, self-organisation, theistic evolution, and intelligent design. The contributors to this volume define their respective positions in an accessible style, inviting readers to draw their own conclusions. Two introductory essays furnish a historical overview of the debate.
Although common evolutionary principles drive the growth of cancer cells regardless of the tissue of origin, the microenvironment in which tumours arise substantially differs across various organ ...sites. Recent studies have established that, in addition to cell-intrinsic effects, tumour growth regulation also depends on local cues driven by tissue environmental factors. In this Review, we discuss how tissue-specific determinants might influence tumour development and argue that unravelling the tissue-specific contribution to tumour immunity should help the development of precise immunotherapeutic strategies for patients with cancer.
The Network of Cancer Genes (NCG) is a manually curated repository of 2372 genes whose somatic modifications have known or predicted cancer driver roles. These genes were collected from 275 ...publications, including two sources of known cancer genes and 273 cancer sequencing screens of more than 100 cancer types from 34,905 cancer donors and multiple primary sites. This represents a more than 1.5-fold content increase compared to the previous version. NCG also annotates properties of cancer genes, such as duplicability, evolutionary origin, RNA and protein expression, miRNA and protein interactions, and protein function and essentiality. NCG is accessible at http://ncg.kcl.ac.uk/ .
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