Darwin In the Genome: Molecular Strategies in Biological Evolution [Hardcover]

Lynn Caporale (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071378227 | ISBN-13: 978-0071378222 | Publication Date: October 9, 2002 | Edition: 1

Smart genomes--an enthralling account of revolutionary discoveries at the cutting edge of genomics research

Written by a molecular biologist at the forefront of genomics research, Darwin in the Genome is an exciting account of one of the hottest new theories in biology today: evolution by natural selection inevitably leads to strategic mutations. In the struggle for survival, from pathogens to flowers, birds to orangutans, baker's yeast to people, the fittest genomes are those that evolve effective molecular strategies that respond to, and in fact anticipate, challenges and opportunities in their environments.

Writing in a clear, accessible style, Lynn Caporale describes the emergence of genomic mutation strategies, which researchers are just beginning to uncover. She also spells out some of the more profound implications of these findings, including the importance of biodiversity, indeed human diversity, for survival, the possibility of bold new directions for medical research, and the inherent dangers of attempting to fix perceived "errors" in a human genome.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The enthralling story of strategic genomes and the revolutionary discoveries at the cutting edge of bio-research.

"Each of us is, in a way, an experiment, and an example of the life-preserving, creative diversity expressed at our moment in time by the human genome. Indeed, we share with each other, no less than with the majesty of the Redwoods and the doves, the fact that each of us is a unique creation of the barely-tapped potential immanent in the first genomes on Earth."--From the Introduction

Now that we have the basic blueprint of the human genome in hand, scientists are beginning to probe more deeply into life's mysteries in ways that have never been possible before. One of the most enduring and controversial of those mysteries is how evolution by natural selection could have produced the incredibly complex life forms we see all around us. How could a process based on random mutation exhibit such powerful, seemingly progressive, principles of design? Until now, this question has been fiercely debated by those who believe that there must be an intelligent designer driving the process and those who believe that random mutation can somehow produce sufficient complexity.

But now, in this eloquent and timely book, Lynn Caporale, a molecular biologist at the forefront of genomics research, offers an exciting new theory that sees past both the ideas of a random model, and the alternative of divine intervention, to see a more subtle and intricate mechanism at work: a mechanism that looks startlingly strategic and purposeful, and yet is consistent with the basic Darwinian model. Simply put: Not all mutations are "random accidents." In the struggle for survival--from pathogens to flowers, birds to orangutans, baker's yeast to human beings--the fittest genomes are brilliant strategists, responding to, and in fact anticipating, challenges and opportunities in their environments.

Writing with elegant clarity and rigor, Lynn Caporale describes the emergence of genomic mutations strategies, spelling out some of the more profound implications of these findings, including the possibility of bold new directions for medical research, and the inherent dangers of attempting to fix perceived "errors" in a human genome, all the while stressing the importance of human diversity--and biodiversity--for survival in a world in which each of us shares 99.97% of our DNA with every "perfect stranger" on Earth.

"There was a moment when the dust itself edged, in slow motion, over a boundary into life. It entered onto a path strewn with dangers, uncertainty, and creativity. It spread its growing skill across the Earth until it learned how to fly at will, how to sit still, here, and to discuss its own evolution. Those who do not believe that we have evolved from life forms that are invisible to the naked eye--and even those who do--find it hard to conceive of how this journey could have succeeded, relying only on random mutation and survival of the "fittest." It seems most inconceivable that there has been enough time for mere molecules to organize themselves into a being that could compose music, travel to the moon and back, and indeed analyze its own genome. How did we get this far, even once, in only billions of years? How could we have happened so randomly? In the greatest achievement in human intellectual history, the information in our genome, the product of billions of years of evolution, now is opening before us. What answers does our genome hold about the Big Questions that whisper to us all? What does it say of the "immense journey" it has taken, as it passed through uncounted life forms to be carried within us, as we sit here, discussing our origins and our fate?"--From the Introduction

About the Author

Lynn Caporale received her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of California at Berkeley. After teaching and doing research at New York University, Memorial/Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Rockefeller University, and Georgetown University, she moved to Merck Research Laboratories, where she spent over a decade focused on the discovery of new medicines. Dr. Caporale has held research and senior executive positions with various biotechnology companies and in the pharmaceutical industry and currently is an independent consultant in drug discovery and functional genomics. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (October 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071378227
• ISBN-13: 978-0071378222
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,377,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Molecular Basis of Evolution, January 2, 2003

By 

Charles R. Middaugh (Lawrence, Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Darwin In the Genome: Molecular Strategies in Biological Evolution (Hardcover)

Even the most convinced evolutionist must struggle with comprehending how life in all its diversity could have arisen from a simple process of random mutation and selection. For perhaps the last 30 years, it has become apparent that DNA can be altered by a variety of processes that can vary it in ways that permit changes of a much more dramatic sort that should permit much more rapid and "effective" evolution. Several years ago, the author of this exceptionally interesting new book organized a conference under the auspices of the New York Academy of Sciences that brought together a wide diversity of scientists concerned with the molecular basis of evolutionary change. Using this meeting as a starting point and combining these discussions with her own original contributions to the field, Dr. Caporale has produced what seems to me to be the first comprehensive albeit preliminary view of how we came to be what we are. Through a series of descriptions of DNA alterations such as "slipping, jumping, repair and modular rearrangement", she convincing argues that the key to understanding evolution is the recognition that the evolutionary process itself is subject to variation, selection and evolution. Like any convincing arguement, after listening to her graceful discussion of example after example from the generation of antibody diversity and pathogen surface changes to the origin of cancer, her hypothesis begins to seem obvious. If you have ever struggled with understanding how evolutionary process could have produced something as complex as a human being, this is the book for you. It is written in a very direct, accessible style and should appeal to anyone from an interested lay person to a scientist (such as myself) who is not an expert in the area. I have a few minor concerns that should not detract in any serious way from the power and impact of this wonderful book. I felt the author over used analogies throughout the work. I often found the analogies more difficult to understand than the actual direct description of the phenomenon being described. I would also like to have seen more simple diagrams illustrating the types of changes in the DNA that were discussed. I also think that most scientists would strongly disagree with the statement that the sequencing of the human genome is/was the "greatest achievement in human intellectual history". While few would disagree that this is a major technical accomplishment, it in of itself pales before quantum mechanics, special and general relativity, recognition of the structure of DNA, etc. Finally, the weakest part of her argument is the reliance upon deleterious changes in DNA to build much of her case. She clearly recognizes this but argues that it is just more difficult to see similar molecular alterations that have had positive evolutionary effects. I tend to think she is probably correct, but only more detailed studies of a variety of genomes will unambiguously reveal this. I was a bit disappointed that she failed to discuss the "entropic DNA hypothesis" since this at least partially resolves some of the uncertainties in her arguments but this is perhaps not unexpected on my part since I am the author of said idea. In summary, this is an exceptional book by any criteria. I hope it is widely read and discussed and the author gives us a second edition in 5-10 years that will keep us updated on a subject of central importance to all of us. If nothing else, read the last chapter and epilogue. The authors views on the philosophical, social and political implications of our new understanding of genomic structure and dynamics seem to me to be both beautiful and profound. The unity of life on earth has never been more eloquently described and elaborated than in this work. The more widely read this book is, the better it will be for all of us, especially in these difficult times.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good balance, current developments, June 23, 2004

By 

Herbert V. Leighton (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Darwin In the Genome: Molecular Strategies in Biological Evolution (Hardcover)

I am not a trained biologist, but I enjoy reading in this area, and I enjoyed this book a good deal.

Basically, her thesis (which appears most clearly on page 130) is that genetic mutations are not random and are to some degree controlled by a meta-program of the DNA regulators that is subject to selection pressures. She posits an evolutionary theory, but spends most of her time gently explaining the actualities and details. She shows that her theory happens in the immune system and then makes reasonable suppositions that it probably happens on a broader scale. There are a lot of perhaps's and probably's in the book. She acknowledges that parts of her theory are controversial.

She is much clearer and less freighted with philosophical rhetoric than Lenny Moss's "What genes can't do," and she describes the complex genetic interaction with other cellular structures and exterior signals with almost as much subtlety. I liked her description of bacteria using quorum-sensors to decide whether to break apart as plasmids or whether to hunker down in a spore. She also seems to have an eye on the issues raised by IDist Michael Behe and makes a point of discussing the immune system and blood clotting as very much reducible and evolved mechanisms, though she doesn't attack creationism directly.

I give the book a four star because her prose is not as inspired as that of Stephen Jay Gould or Steven Pinker, and her metaphors don't always fly. Her grand gesture at the end did not leave me overwhelmed. There is still a lot of technical vocabulary, so not quite a light read, but much lighter than many. It will allow even smart high schoolers to learn the latest theories on that Mother of All Rube Goldberg Machines: Life.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Dancer and the Dance, March 13, 2006

By 

G. Bestick (Dobbs Ferry, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Darwin In the Genome: Molecular Strategies in Biological Evolution (Hardcover)

Imagine you're sitting in the audience at a play, one with a large cast and a complex plot, Les Miserables, say, or Nicholas Nickleby. Only this play isn't presented in the usual way. Sometimes you see the actors but you can't hear them speak. Other times the curtain hides the stage, but you can hear the actors clearly. And sometimes you can both see the actors and hear them deliver their lines. After sitting through this odd drama, you're required to provide a detailed critique of the play to someone who hasn't seen it.

Some of what happened you'd know for certain, some of it you'd try to infer by piecing together partial information, and some of your explanation would be sheer guesswork. This seems to approximate current scientific writing about the human genome: some knowledge, some inference, some guesswork. We've learned a considerable amount about the overall structure of our genome during the past two decades. But there's a lot about the mechanics of how genes duplicate, edit and regulate themselves that remains hidden from us. Molecular biologist Lynn Helena Caporale uses her considerable knowledge of genomic functioning to update us on the current state of play and to buttress some speculative thinking about how genomes mutate. Her conclusions are controversial among evolutionary theorists, but they do provide a possible answer to a particularly bedeviling question: given the trillions of potential pathways and cul de sacs down which random mutation could have taken our genes, how did homo sapiens actually evolve to this level of functioning in the relatively short time we've been on the planet?

Dr. Caporale's thesis is that mutation might not be completely random. Instead, she speculates that genes may have evolved strategies for allowing high levels of variation in targeted areas for targeted purposes - fighting off bacterial infections, for example - in ways that don't disturb the essential functioning of the organism. As she states in the prologue, "a genome evolves a `worldview' of which types of changes, under what types of circumstances, may yield a new function and are less likely to destroy something essential."

Such genomes would have an evolutionary advantage because they could generate diverse offspring or adapt to new circumstances without having to rebuild what already works from scratch. She also demonstrates that our DNA can cut and paste blocks of genetic information, which means that we can take successful subroutines and recombine them to create new functions, similar to the way object oriented programming works in computer software. (We may have acquired some useful code from interactions with our good friends, bacteria, or our close cousins, the mouse and the fruit fly.) If genes work this way, then our evolution may have been more strategic and targeted than purely random mutation would account for, and natural selection would naturally favor the genomes with the most workable strategy for surviving and successfully replicating themselves.

Among the many fascinating glimpses into our functioning that this book provides are the strategies our cells employ to recognize, capture and neutralize viruses. There's an epic conflict going on in your gut at this very moment that makes the climactic battle scenes in Lord of the Rings look tepid and unimaginative. It's also fascinating to realize that our genes enact on the cellular level one of our most profound human dilemmas: how do you decide what should remain stable and what should change in order to secure the best future for yourself? Is the human dilemma just the basic genomic dilemma writ large? As the Irish poet William Butler Yeats put it so memorably, how can you tell the dancer from the dance?

There's a lot of detail in this book, and the non-biologist may struggle to absorb the nomenclature of molecular biology, and to track the splits, slips, swaps, loops, cuts, conversions, transmissions and transpositions that the 3 billion letters of your genome engage in. Dr. Caporale employs some elegant metaphors to make the play more intelligible. The reward for paying close attention is a awe-inspiring glimpse into what we are, along with some well-reasoned ideas about why we turned out this particular way.