Epigenetic Principles of Evolution
- 1st Edition - November 21, 2011
- Author: Nelson R Cabej
- Language: English
This is the first and only book, so far, to deal with the causal basis of evolution from an epigenetic view. By revealing the epigenetic "user" of the "genetic toolkit", this bo… Read more
This is the first and only book, so far, to deal with the causal basis of evolution from an epigenetic view. By revealing the epigenetic "user" of the "genetic toolkit", this book demonstrates the primacy of epigenetic mechanisms and epigenetic information in generating evolutionary novelties.
The author convincingly supports his theory with a host of examples from the most varied fields of biology, by emphasizing changes in developmental pathways as the basic source of evolutionary change in metazoans.
- Original and thought provoking--a radically new theory that overcomes the present difficulties of the theory of evolution
- Is the first and only theory that uses epigenetic mechanisms and principles for explaining evolution of metazoans
- Takes an integrative approach and shows a wide range of learning
Evolutionary biologists, developmental biologists and ecologists
Dedication
Introduction: The Explanatory Conundrum and the New Perspective in Modern Biology
1. Control Systems and Determination of Phenotypic Traits in Metazoans
2. Neural Manipulation of Gene Expression
3. Epigenetic Control of Reproduction
4. Epigenetic Control of Early Development
5. Neural Control of Postphylotypic Development
6. The Epigenetic System of Inheritance—An Outline
7. Evolution and Stress Responses to Changes in Environment
8. Behavioral Adaptation to Changed Conditions of Living
9. Ontogeny
10. Intragenerational Developmental Plasticity
11. Transgenerational Developmental Plasticity—An Epitome of Evolutionary Change
12. Evolution of Metazoans and Their Control System
13. Origins of Evolutionary Novelty
14. Evolution by Loss
15. Evolution by Reverting to Ancestral Characters
16. Neural Crest–Determined Evolutionary Novelties
17. Evolutionary Convergences
18. Species and Allopatric Speciation
19. Epigenetics of Sympatric Speciation—Speciation as a Mechanism of Evolution
"Cabej (biology, U. of Tirana, Albania) explains the epigenetic principles of evolution (as opposed to the theory of evolution as determined by changes in genes) and reconstructs the developmental mechanisms of evolutionary changes in metazoans, based on empirical evidence. He focuses on the mechanisms of the generation of the evolutionary innovations from the influence of environment on heredity rather than the role of natural selection. He discusses control systems and determination of phenotypic traits in metazoans, neural manipulation of gene expression, epigenetic control of reproduction and early development, neural control of postphylotypic development, and the epigenetic system of inheritance. He follows with description of neural-developmental premises of evolutionary adaptation, including evolution and stress responses and behavioral adaptation to changes in environment, ontogeny, and intragenerational developmental plasticity; epigenetics of circumevolutionary phenomena and the mechanism of evolutionary change, including transgenerational developmental plasticity and the evolution of metazoans and their control system; and the origins of evolutionary novelty, evolution by loss or by reverting to ancestral characters, neural crest-determined evolutionary novelties, evolutionary convergences, species and allopatric speciation, and sympatric speciation. He presents the available evidence for his theory, rather than illustrating an established theory, and includes a comparative presentation of the neo-Darwinian view to his epigenetic explanation. There is no index."—Reference and Research Book News, October 2012
- Edition: 1
- Published: November 21, 2011
- Language: English
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Nelson R Cabej
Nelson R. Cabej earned his PhD in biology at the University of Tirana, Albania, and currently serves as a researcher in the Department of Biology at the same university. His scientific career began with research in the fields of epizootiology, immunology and molecular biology at the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Tirana, Albania. He also previously taught general biology at the University of Tirana and William Paterson College, Wayne, New Jersey, USA. He has published more than 50 scientific articles and 20 books in the fields of evolutionary biology, epigenetics, developmental biology and philosophy of biology, including 4 books with Elsevier: Building The Most Complex Structure On Earth (2013); Epigenetic Principles of Evolution, Second Edition (2018); Epigenetic Mechanisms of the Cambrian Explosion (2019); and The Inductive Brain in Development and Evolution (2021).
Affiliations and expertise
Department of Biology, University of Tirana, Tirana, AlbaniaRead Epigenetic Principles of Evolution on ScienceDirect