the making of the fittest
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The making of the fittestDNA and the ultimate forensic record of evolution(Sean B. Carroll)TRANSCRIPT
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Book review
TheJournalofClinicalInvestigation http://www.jci.org Volume117 Number7 July2007 1737
The making of the fittestDNA and the ultimate forensic record of evolution
Sean B. CarrollW.W. Norton & Company. New York, New York, USA. 2006.
288 pp. $25.95. ISBN: 978-0-393-06163-5 (hardcover).
Reviewed by David McKinnonStony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
E-mail: [email protected]
Forthelastcenturyandahalf,sincethefirstprintingofDarwinsThe origin of species,muchofthebestandmostthought-provok-ingscientificwritinghastakenasitsstart-ingpointsomeaspectofbiologicalevolu-tion.Giventhehighstandardsinthisarea,genuinelynovel ideasorsignificantnewdataarenecessaryforanauthortomakeasubstantialcontributiontothisremarkablebodyofliterature.SeanB.Carroll,profes-sorofmolecularbiologyandgeneticsattheUniversityofWisconsinandauthorofThe making of the fittest,isfortunatetohavebothandtopossesstheabilityasawritertomakeeffectiveuseoftheseresources.Fromthe relatively recent convergence of thefieldsofevolutionandthemolecularbiol-ogyofdevelopment,newideashavearisenregarding how the evolution of animalmorphologyismediatedatthelevelofgeneregulation,andCarrollhasplayedaleadingroleinthedevelopmentoftheseideas.Inaddition,inrecentyearstherehasbeenanexplosioninDNAsequencedatacoveringaremarkablerangeofdifferentspecies,andthishasshednewlightonthemolecularmechanismsunderlyinghumanandani-malevolution.ItisthereforeapropitioustimetobewritinggeneralinterestbooksonevolutionandCarrollhasbeenquiteactive,producingthreevolumesinrelativelyquicksuccession.Carrollstwoearlierbooksfocusonthe
molecularbiologyofdevelopmentandhowthisdisciplineinformsourunderstandingofthemechanismsbywhichchanges inmorphologicalformsareproducedduringthecourseofevolution.Endless forms most beautiful(1)isaimedatthegeneralinter-estreaderbutisslightlymorechallengingthanthebookcurrentlyunderreview.From DNA to diversity(2),whichwascowrittenwithScottWeatherbeeandJenniferGre-nier,isaimedattheintroductorygradu-
atestudentorupper-levelundergraduateandcoverssimilarground.Thesebookspresentanintroductiontooneimportantaspectofcurrentevolutionaryscience:theinterplaybetweenthemolecularbiologyofdevelopmentandtheevolutionofanimalmorphology.Thisfieldhasgeneratedmanynewinsightsintobothdevelopmentalandevolutionarybiology.Inparticular,Carrolldescribestheprimaryrolethatchangesingeneregulationplayintheevolutionofani-malform,asopposedtothemorefamiliaremphasisontheevolutionofproteinstruc-tureand function.Theauthorpresentsstrongargumentsfortherelativestabilityofthesequenceandfunctionofmostoftheproteins,particularlytranscriptionfactors,thatmediatethedevelopmentalsequence,whileprovidingmultipleexamplesofhowtheregulationofexpressionofthesepro-teinsismodifiedinaflexiblemanneroverthecourseofevolution,resultingindra-maticallydifferentanimalmorphologies.Theemphasisonthegeneticcomponentsthatareconservedduring thecourseofevolutioncreatesastrongthematiccenterforbothbooks,makingthemconsiderablymorecoherentthantypicaldevelopmentalbiologytextbooks.
The making of the fittestisCarrollsmostaccessiblevolumeforthegeneralreader.ItcoverssimilarconceptualandstylisticgroundtosomeofStephenJayGouldspopularworks,butisfirmlygroundedinthemoleculardetailsofevolution,whichwerenotgenerallyavailablewhenGouldwaswriting.Carroll takes considerableadvantageofresultsfromthenewscienceofgenomicstoilluminateaseriesofwell-selectedexamplesofevolution,primarilyrelatingtoanimalmorphologyorphysi-ology.Ofparticularinterestisthegenetichistoryofvision,agoodexampleofhowcomplexphylogeneticrelationshipsand
phenotypescanobscurerelativelysimpleunderlyingmolecularmechanisms.Mostof the volume focuses on the central-ityofDNAsequencestounderstandingthecourseofevolutionandhownaturalselectionactstoproducechangesinthosesequences.Thereisanemphasisonhowtheinteractionbetweengeneticvariationandnaturalselectioncanhavebothgen-erative and destructive effects on genesequencesandtheconsequencesthatthiscanhaveforthelong-termsurvivalofagivenspecies.Thisbookwillbeofinteresttoreaderswishingtoupdatetheirknowl-edgeofthemolecularmechanismsofevo-lution.Itissufficientlycomprehensivetomakeagood introduction toevolutionforthelayreaderornonspecialistandishighlyrecommended.Throughoutthebook,Carrollprovides
aspiriteddefenseofevolutionarytheory,undercuttingcreationistand intelligentdesigntheorieswithharddata,whichmakesthebookausefulresourceforanyoneinter-estedinthisongoingcontroversy.Carrollprovidesspecificexamplesandargumentsagainstsomeofthemostcommonmiscon-ceptionsregardingevolutionarytheory.HealsoattemptstobringevolutionarytheoryintothemainstreamofeverydaythinkingbyshowingthatDNAtechnologiessuchasdiagnosticandforensictestingtechnolo-gieswithwhichmuchof thepopula-tionhassomefamiliarity,eitherdirectlyorthroughthemediamakelittlesensewhentakenoutofthecontextofevolution-arytheory,whichunderpinsessentiallyallofmodernbiologicalthought.
1.Carroll,S.B.2006.Endless forms most beautiful: the new science of evo devo.W.W.Norton&Company.NewYork,NewYork,USA.368pp.
2.Carroll,S.B.,Grenier,J.K.,andWeatherbee,S.D.2004.From DNA to diversity: molecular genetics and the evolution of animal design.2ndedition.BlackwellPub-lishingInc.Malden,Massachusetts,USA.272pp.