Stasis is an Inevitable Consequence of Every Successful Evolution

Shcherbakov, Victor P.

doi:10.1007/s12304-011-9122-4

Cited by 12 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…(Riedl 1977(Riedl , 1978 The idea that the ultimate outcome of biological evolution is stasis, or, more plainly, that evolution is going 162 to end, sounds quite radical (although it was proposed, e.g. by Shcherbakov 2012). Nevertheless, it is clear 163 that the whole process is not so simple (see, e.g.…”

Section: Potential (See Eg Pigliucci 2008; Toman and Flegr 2018) mentioning

confidence: 99%

A virtue made of necessity: Is the increasing hierarchical complexity of sexual clades an inevitable outcome of their declining (macro)evolutionary potential?

Toman¹,

Flegr²

2018

Preprint

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The increasing maximal hierarchical complexity of organisms is one of the best-supported macroevolutionary trends. The nature and causes of this trend, as well as several accompanying macroevolutionary phenomena, are, however, still unclear. In this theoretical article, we propose that the cause of this trend might be the increasing pressure of species selection, which results from the gradual decrease of (macro)evolutionary potential (i.e. the probability of producing major evolutionary innovations). As follows from the Theory of Frozen Evolution, this process is an inevitable consequence of the sorting of genes, traits, and their integrated groups (modules) based on their contextually dependent stability, which causes effectively unchangeable elements of genetic architecture to accumulate during the existence of evolutionary lineages. Although (macro)evolutionary potential can be partially restored by several processes, a profound restoration of (macro)evolutionary potential is probably possible only by means of a transition to a higher level of hierarchical complexity. However, the accumulation of contextually more stable elements continues even on this higher level. This leads to the diminution of the modular character of composite organisms and a repeated pressure to increase the level of hierarchical complexity. Our model explains all components of McShea’s “Evolutionary Syndrome,” i.e. the trend of increasing the hierarchical complexity of organisms, the growth of variability among elements on the immediately lower level, and their gradual machinification. This pattern should be characteristic of sexual eukaryotes and especially their complex representatives. Our model also sheds new light on several related macroevolutionary phenomena, such as the gradual acceleration of the trend or the striking difference between pre-Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic evolution.

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Section: Potential (See Eg Pigliucci 2008; Toman and Flegr 2018) mentioning

confidence: 99%

A virtue made of necessity: Is the increasing hierarchical complexity of sexual clades an inevitable outcome of their declining (macro)evolutionary potential?

Toman¹,

Flegr²

2018

Preprint

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“…The Universe as a whole evolves. The prebiotic evolution shares the same major principle with biological evolution [2,3,4]. Various objects continuously arising in the Universe have different longevities, from infinitesimal fractions of a second to billions of years.…”

Section: Robert Frostmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Species as a Form of Existence, the Higher Form

Shcherbakov¹

2013

The Species Problem - Ongoing Issues

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“…The first is a predetermined, goal-directed, governed process, representing an empirical embodiment of the ontogenetic plan [25]. It is reproduction of the body on the basis of genetic information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological species is the only possible form of existence for higher organisms: the evolutionary meaning of sexual reproduction

Shcherbakov

2010

Biology Direct

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Consistent holistic view of sexual species as the highest form of biological existence is presented. The Weismann's idea that sex and recombination provide the variation for the natural selection to act upon is dominated in most discussions of the biological meaning of the sexual reproduction. Here, the idea is substantiated that the main advantage of sex is the opposite: the ability to counteract not only extinction but further evolution as well. Living systems live long owing to their ability to reproduce themselves with a high fidelity. Simple organisms (like bacteria) reach the continued existence due to the high fidelity of individual genome replication. In organisms with a large genome and complex development, the achievable fidelity of DNA replication is not enough for the precise reproduction of the genome. Such species must be capable of surviving and must remain unchanged in spite of the continuous changes of their genes. This problem has no solution in the frame of asexual ("homeogenomic") lineages. They would rapidly degrade and become extinct or blurred out in the course of the reckless evolution. The core outcome of the transition to sexual reproduction was the creation of multiorganismic entity - biological species. Individual organisms forfeited their ability to reproduce autonomously. It implies that individual organisms forfeited their ability to substantive evolution. They evolve as a part of the biological species. In case of obligatory sexuality, there is no such a thing as synchronic multi-level selection. Natural selection cannot select anything that is not a unit of reproduction. Hierarchy in biology implies the functional predestination of the parts for the sake of the whole. A crucial feature of the sexual reproduction is the formation of genomes of individual organisms by random picking them over from the continuously shuffled gene pool instead of the direct replication of the ancestor's genome. A clear anti-evolutionary consequence of the sexuality is evident from the fact that the genotypes of the individuals with an enhanced competitiveness are not transmitted to the next generation. Instead, after mating with "ordinary" individuals, these genotypes scatter and rearrange in new gene combinations, thus preventing the winner from exploiting the success.ReviewersThis article was reviewed by Pierre Antoine Pontarotti, Michael T. Ghiselin (nominated by Dr. Juergen Brosius) and Emanuel Tannenboum (nominated by Dr. Doron Lancet)

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Stasis is an Inevitable Consequence of Every Successful Evolution

Cited by 12 publications

References 70 publications

A virtue made of necessity: Is the increasing hierarchical complexity of sexual clades an inevitable outcome of their declining (macro)evolutionary potential?

A virtue made of necessity: Is the increasing hierarchical complexity of sexual clades an inevitable outcome of their declining (macro)evolutionary potential?

Biological Species as a Form of Existence, the Higher Form

Biological species is the only possible form of existence for higher organisms: the evolutionary meaning of sexual reproduction

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