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Educational Lessons from Evolutionary Properties of the Sexual Genome

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The Philosophy of Biology

Part of the book series: History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences ((HPTL,volume 1))

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Abstract

The sexual genome (the full suite of genetic material within each cell of a sexual species) is an object of wonder for scientists and philosophers alike. By any criterion, it ranks among the most complex and sophisticated apparatuses known to humanity, yet it also performs like a Rube-Goldberg device that malfunctions routinely with oft-disastrous consequences for an organism’s wellbeing. To reconcile such seemingly contradictory perspectives on genomic operations, gene-centric reasoning that focuses on the concept of selfish DNA appears at present to be a fruitful scientific approach. The basic idea is that sequence proliferation via successful DNA replication is a key aspect of the evolutionary game especially when the best interests of genes versus organisms come into conflict, as they often do. From this neo-Darwinian insight flow biological predictions that reconcile otherwise enigmatic structural and functional properties of sexual genomes, including many recently uncovered features of nuclear DNA in Homo sapiens. Thus, we might suppose that molecular genetics and evolutionary genomics would be centerpieces of academic curricula in biology and medicine. The fact that they are not has historical and sociological roots that help to explain why the genomic revolution, now entering its second decade, has barely begun to reach its tremendous potential for illuminating the human condition.

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Acknowledgments 

The author’s research and writing are supported by funds from the University of California at Irvine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA

    John C. Avise

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  1. John C. Avise
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Correspondence to John C. Avise .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Educational Research & Development, Geitonas School, Vari Attikis, Athens, 1234, Attiki, Greece

    Kostas Kampourakis

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Avise, J.C. (2013). Educational Lessons from Evolutionary Properties of the Sexual Genome. In: Kampourakis, K. (eds) The Philosophy of Biology. History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6537-5_13

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