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Constructive Neutral Evolution 20 Years Later
- Source :
- Journal of Molecular Evolution
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Evolution has led to a great diversity that ranges from elegant simplicity to ornate complexity. Many complex features are often assumed to be more functional or adaptive than their simpler alternatives. However, in 1999, Arlin Stolzfus published a paper in the Journal of Molecular Evolution that outlined a framework in which complexity can arise through a series of non-adaptive steps. He called this framework Constructive Neutral Evolution (CNE). Despite its two-decade-old roots, many evolutionary biologists still appear to be unaware of this explanatory framework for the origins of complexity. In this perspective piece, we explain the theory of CNE and how it changes the order of events in narratives that describe the evolution of complexity. We also provide an extensive list of cellular features that may have become more complex through CNE. We end by discussing strategies to determine whether complexity arose through neutral or adaptive processes.
- Subjects :
- media_common.quotation_subject
Review
Biology
Constructive
Evolution, Molecular
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Order (exchange)
Molecular evolution
Genetics
Neutrality
Random genetic drift
Simplicity
Adaptation
Adaptation (computer science)
Molecular Biology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
030304 developmental biology
media_common
Cognitive science
0303 health sciences
Genetic Drift
Entrenchment
Perspective (graphical)
Complexity
Neutral theory of molecular evolution
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14321432 and 00222844
- Volume :
- 89
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Molecular Evolution
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....237a3fc18e466bf235d31239e1afa396