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jeannot



Posts: 1201
Joined: Jan. 2006

(Permalink) Posted: Nov. 14 2011,12:42   

I've not read this review (yet), but the abstract already bothers me.
Quote
The evolutionary synthesis, the standard 20th century view of how evolutionary change occurs, is based on selection, heritable phenotypic variation and a very simple view of genes. It is therefore unable to incorporate two key aspects of modern molecular knowledge

How does that follow? The evolutionary synthesis doesn't make any assumption on the simplicity of genes and their link to phenotypes, and even what's the source of the variation (mutation, methylation). Quantitative genetics is a solid discipline. There is heritable phenotypic variation and non-heritable variation, with epistasis, dominance, maternal effects... all being complex, but factored in the equations. Only heritability (narrow sense) is subject to natural selection. Simple as that.
So the neo-lamarkians should show how the newly discovered mechanisms (methylation, etc) integrate into the equations, before claiming that they overturn the current theory.
So far, I haven't seen how epigenetic is supposed to affect evolution. Has anyone got a good review?

  
  366 replies since Nov. 08 2011,06:46 < Next Oldest | Next Newest >  

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