Abstract
Stephen Jay Gould was a paleontologist by training, but his writing covered a wide range of topics and his thinking exerted an influence on several fields. Although he only discussed genome evolution only occasionally, it is clear that several “Gouldian” principles apply equally to this topic. These connections are explored in this review by using the evolution of genome size diversity—the so-called “C-value enigma”—as a case study. In particular, the hierarchical conception of macroevolution espoused by Gould is brought to bear on phenomena including the evolution of transposable elements within genomes and the effects of total genome size on higher level properties including at the cellular, organismal, and ecological scales. Conversely, some implications of an improved understanding of genome evolution for macroevolutionary theory are considered.
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Notes
- 1.
Genome size has traditionally been given in mass units of picograms (1 pg = 10−12 g), but is now also often expressed as total number of nucleotide base pairs (bp). The conversion between them is as follows: Number of base pairs = Mass in pg × 0.978 × 109 and conversely, Mass in pg = Number of base pairs × 1.022 × 10−9 (Dolezel et al. 2003).
- 2.
See Camacho (2005) for a detailed review of B chromosome biology and evolution.
- 3.
Although Gould appreciated the important theoretical implications of selfish DNA (as discussed in a later section), he maintained this critical view of the terminology right through to his last contribution on the subject: “Such genes could only be deemed ‘selfish’, ‘parasitic’, etc., from a false and limited perspective that values the organism alone as an agent of evolutionary success. After all, we don’t call a peacock selfish for evolving such a beautiful tail, and thus limiting the geological longevity of the species” (Gould 2002, p. 694).
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Gregory, T.R. (2013). Molecules and Macroevolution: A Gouldian View of the Genome. In: Danieli, G., Minelli, A., Pievani, T. (eds) Stephen J. Gould: The Scientific Legacy. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5424-0_4
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