Evolutionary Theory and Processes: Modern Perspectives: Papers in Honour of Eviatar Nevo

502 Pages·1999·32.78 MB·English

by  Julia G. Bodmer

EVOLUTIONARY THEORY AND PROCESSES: MODERN PERSPECTIVES
Papers in Honour of Eviatar Nevo
EVOLUTIONARY THEORY AND PROCESSES:
MODERN PERSPECTIVES
Papers in Honour of EvÎatar Nevo
Edited by
Solomon P. Wasser
Institute ofE volution, University ofH aifa, Haifa, Israel;
NG. Kholodny Institute of Botany, NASU, Kiev, Ukraine
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-94-010-6025-7 ISBN 978-94-011-4830-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-4830-6
Printed on acid-free pap er
AlI Rights Reserved
© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Origina11y published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1999
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover Ist edition 1999
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
Contents
Foreword IX
EviatarNevo(InHonourofRis70thBirthday) X
ListofSelectedPublicationsofEviatarNevo XVI
IntroductoryRemarks XLIV
ListofContributors LI
Acknowledgments LVI
Part One. Evolutionary Theory
1. HLAPolymorphismand Evolution 3
JuliaG. Bodmerand WalterF. Bodmer
2. Selection,DarwinianFitnessand EvolutioninLocalPopulations 23
HamptonL. Carson
3. SelectionforAdaptiveTraitsasaFactorofRecombinationEvolution:
Evidencefrom Naturaland ExperimentalPopulations 31
AbrahamB. Korol
4. TheRoleofRecombinationinPlantGenomeEvolution 55
Michael T Clegg
5. VariationandFidelity: TheEvolutionofSimpleSequenceRepeatsali
FunctionalElementsinAdjustableGenes 65
DavidG. KingandMorrisSoller
6. TIMAaRecent EvolutionaryParadigm 83
GerhardD. Wassermann
7. StableGeneAssociationsinBreedingand EvolutionofGrasses 97
AlexeiA. Sozinov, IgorA. Sozinov, NataliaA. Kozub andTatianaA. Sobko
8. Compositional Correlationsand GeneDistributionoftheHuman
Genome 115
OliverClay, GiuseppeD'OnOfriO, KamelJabbari, SergueiZoubak,
SalvatorSacconeandGiorgioBernardi
9. AttheWorld'sCrossRoads 125
WilliamD. Hamilton
V
VI
Part Two. MolecularBiology and Phylogeny
10. MolecularClocksandtheOriginofAnimals 151
FranciscoJoseAyala,AndreyRzhetskyandFranciscoJ. Ayala
11. UsingGeneTreestoInferSpeciesfrom TestableNull Hypothesis:
CohesionSpeciesintheSpalaxehrenberg;Complex 171
AlanR. Templeton
12. PrimatePhylogenyandClassificationElucidated attheMoleclJ1arLevel 193
MorrisGoodman, ScottL. Page. CarlaM MeirelesandJohn Czelusniak
13. SignificantSegmentPairAlignmentforProteinSequencesbetween
Animals,Plants,and Fungi 213
SamuelKarlinandLucianoBrocchieri
14. MolecularGeneticCharacterizationofTwoInsularAsianCatSpecies,
BomeanBayCatand IriomoteCat 223
WarrenE. Johnson, FumiharaShinyashiki. MarilynMenottiRaymond,
CarlosDriscoll. CharlesLeh, MelSunquist, LeslieJohnston, MitchelBush,
DavidWildt. Naoya Yuhki andStephenJ. 0 'Brien
15. MicrosatelliteLociandtheOriginofModemHumans: Bayesian
Analysis. 249
FedericoM Stefanini andMarcus W Feldman
Part Three. Biodiversity and Speciation
16. CanBiodiversityandGeneticVariability beConservedinHostile
Environments? 273
PeterA. Parsons
17. SpeciesDiversity andBiologyofFungalLifein theExtremely
HypersalineWateroftheDeadSea 283
A.syaS. Buchalo, SolomonP. Wasser, HansP. Molitoris, PaulA. Volz,
IrinaKurchenko, IngeborgLauerandBhavinRawal
18. SpeciationPatternsinPredominatelySelf-PollinatedAnnuals 301
DanielZohary
19. AllelicVariationatthe MN LocusVarieswith ClimaticVariationin
Africansand NativeAmericans 309
JeffryB. Mitton
VII
20. GeneticStructureofNaturaIPopulationsoftbeParasiticWasp
Nasonia vitripennisWIlL(Hymenoptera,CbaIcididae)andtbeRole
ofHaplo-DiploidSexDeterminationinMicroevolution 319
I I
SergeyM Gershenson
Pioneeroftheevolutionarygenetics
M D. Go/ubovsky
21. Studiesonwild barley,HordeumspontaneumC.Koch attheScottish
Crop Research Institute 325
BryanP. Forster
Part Four. Adaptive Evolutionary Strategies
22. TheHalophilicArchaea-EvolutionaryRelationshipsandAdaptation
toLifeatHighSaltConcentrations 345
AharonOren
23. TheFunctinalEcologyofNectarGuidesinRelationtoInsects
BehaviorandVision 363
AmotsDafniandMartin Giurfa
24. SyndromeofEusociaIityinAfricanSubterraneanMole-Rats
(Bathyergidae,Rodentia),itsDiagnosisandAetiology 385
HynekBurda
25. Afterripening,AmountsofRainfor Germination,andSeedling
DroughtTolerance,ofLocal and EdaphicGeno-EcotypesofHordeum
spontaneumC. Koch from Israel 419
YitzchakGuttermanandSabrina Goz/an
26. Oviposition SiteSelectioninResponsetoRiskofPredation: Evidence
from AquaticHabitatsandConsequencesforPopulationDynamicsand
CommunityStructure 441
LeonBlaustein
Index 457
VIII
IX
Foreword
This volwneconsists ofpapers written by evolutionary, molecularand organismal
biologists, geneticists, ecologists, behavioural ecologists, morphologists, mathematicians,
theoreticians and experimentalists, in honour of Professor Eviatar (Eibi) Nevo on the
occasionofhis seventiethbirthday. The contributors are onlya small subsetofEibi's many
friends, collaborators and students (not that one can distinguish these categories among
Eibi'scolleagues). His widespreadinfluenceandactivity, bothin Ismel and more genemlly,
asaleadingevolutionarybiologistis indicatedbyhismanyco-authorsonbooksandpapers,
andbyhismanystudentsintegmtedinteachingandresearch.
Sensiblepublishers, and indeedreaders, reflexively flinch from Festschrifts, which
too often are well-intentioned but inchoate collections ofpapers (frequently recycled). This
particular collection, however, is unified by the way the editors have built on Eibi's own
work,toprovideaconnectivenarrativeandsynthesis,muchofwhichisnewmaterial.
The unifYing thread is evolutionary theory. As a result ofrecent advances at the
interface between molecular and organismal biology, evolutionary theory is currently
undergoing one ofits most dynamic and dramatic developments, unravelling the origins,
structureandevolutionoflivingorganisms. Overthepastfourdecades,studiesofthecauses
and consequences of biological diversity at every level - genes, genomes, populations,
species, ecosystems, - have revolutionised evolutionary biology. New perspectives in
ecological dynamics and in molecular biology and in diversity, along with complete
sequencingofthe firstprokaryoteandeukaryotegenomes,highlightthe evolutionaryorigins
andrelationshipswhichunderlietheunityanddiversityoflifeonoursmallplanet.
Therearestillmanyunsolvedproblems inevolutionarybiology;weurgentlyneeda
betterunderstanding ofglobal diversity and genome evolution. How should biodiversity be
quantified at lower and higher levels ofgenes, taxa and ecosystems? How many species
existedinthepast,existatpresent,andarecurrentlyundergoingextinction?Howcangenes,
genomes, populations, species, communities, and ecosystems be best integmted, in theory
andpmctice?Canecologyshed lightongenomeevolution? What is the relative importance
ofselectiveandnonselective factors inevolution? Whataspectsoftheenvironmentare most
important for the evolution of life? How is organismal evolution related to molecular
evolution? Is there a universal mode for the origin of species? Is adaptation central to
evolution?Whataretheadvantagesofsex,recombination,anddispersal? Whatisthegenetic
basisofmorphology,physiology,behaviour,speciationandadaptation?Howtolinkstructure
andfunction? Whatarethebestestimationproceduresandextrapolationsfor assessingsome
oftheforegoing problems?Howtobridgetheoryandthevastlyaccwnulatingevidence?The
papers in this volwne contribute to our understanding of many of these issues, using a
dynamic interplay between theory and evidence. Although put together as an integrated
account ofrecent advances, the papers represent a sampling from the sweep ofEibi's own
interests.
SirRobertMay
x
EVIATARNEVO
InHonouroJHis 70thBirthday
On February 2nd, 1999 Professor Eviatar (Eibi) Nevo will be seventy years
old. His name occupies a prominent place in Evolutionary Biology because of his
outstanding talent, original style of work, and significant scientific achievements.
Nevo'swidecircleofinterests, hisclarityofscientificvision, hisenormousenergy,and
his honesty always have attracted young researchers and encouraged them to imitate
manytraitsofthischarmingman.
NevoisthesonofthelateLeaGoldis-LevitasandDavidLevitas. Hewasborn
onFebruary2nd 1929, inTelAviv, as EviatarLevitas, and changedhis name toNevo
intheearly 1950s. Nevohasadaughter,Orit,whoisdevelopingacareerinart; hisson
TaldiedintheYomKippurWar(October, 1973). NevostudiedbiologyatTheHebrew
University ofJerusalem, receiving the M.Sc. degree with special distinction in 1958
andPh.D. summacumlaudein 1964.
In 1956, Nevo began his career as a Lecturer in Biology at the Kibutz
TeachersCollegeinOranimCampus. HeservedasVisitingProfessorinZoologyatthe
University of Texas from 1964 to 1965, and was a Fellow in Biology at Harvard
Universityayearlater. In 1967, he accepted the positionofResearch Associate in the
Department of Genetics at The Hebrew University. In 1968 he was promoted to
Lecturer and in 1970 to Senior Lecturer. From 1972 to 1973, he was a Research
Associate at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology in the University of California at
Berkeley, and a SeniorPostdoctoral Research Fellow in theDepartment ofBiology at
theUniversityofChicago. Returning to Israel in 1973, Nevo was appointed Associate
ProfessorofBiologyat theUniversityofHaifa. Since 1975, he hasbeena Professorof
Biologyand since 1977 the founder and Directorofthe Institute ofEvolution, both at
the University of Haifa. Since 1984, he has been the incumbent of the Chair in
EvolutionaryBiology.
Professor Nevo is a leading international evolutionary biologist in the
following fields: (i)Biodiversityofplantsandanimals; (ii) Geneticdiversity in natural
populations ofplants and animals at the protein, DNA, and chromosomal levels; (iii)
Speciation; (iv) Natural selection and adaptation; (v) Genetic resources in wild
germplasms for crop improvement; (vi) Environmental quality; (vii) Aggression
evolution; (viii) Molecular sequence analysis from ecological perspectives, and (ix)
Geneticmapping. Nevo'sscientificworkincludesthefollowingaspects:
l. GeologyandPaleontology(1950-1960)
Nevo's work in the 1950s, as a student, is marked by geological mapping ofthe
Israeli Negev and discoveries ofore (kaolin, copper, iron). He discovered one of
the world's largest collection of fossil frogs from the Early Cretaceous and
publisheditas hisPh.D. dissertation,describingtwonewgeneraand threespecies
and highlighting some basic aspects of frog origins, phylogeny and evolution.
These paleontological studies culminated in discovering Early Cretaceous fossil
salamanders,involvingtwonewgeneraandspeciesintheNegevandSamaria.
XI
2. EvolutionaryDynamicsofFrogs(1960-1990)
In the 1960s, Nevo's work shifted into evolutionary dynamics of living frogs,
covering molecular biology, genetics, morphology, physiology, and behavioral
perspectives,primarilyvocalcommunication. Thesestudieswereconductedacross
theUSAandtheMiddleEast,primarilyinIsrael.
3. OriginofSpeciesandAdaptations(1950-continuingactivelytoday)
Starting in the early 1950s, Nevo initiated a long-term project, still ongoing, on
the speciation and adaptationofsubterranean mammals. This project focusses on
the mole rats, Spa/ax, primarily in the Near East and Israel, but then extended
regionally into Africa and Asia Minor, East Europe, North America, and across
the planet. During these studies, he described about 30 new biological species of
subterranean mammals based on chromosomal and genic speciation. By
multidisciplinary means he studied their climatic adaptations, involving diverse
molecular (protein and DNA) and organismal (morphology, physiology and
behavior) strategies. Nevoshowedthatthe classical speciesSpa/axehrenberg; isa
complex of at least 11 biological species, some in the final stages of species
formation. The studies in Israel were reviewed in a monograph describing Spa/ax
asauniquelyproductive and rich evolutionarymodelofspeciationand adaptation
at the molecular and organismal levels. Reductionist and integrationist aspects
were fruitfully combined to display evolution in action. A major discovery in the
early 1970s demonstrated that speciation can occur with only minor genomic
changes. The role of chromosomal speciation has been highlighted. Extensive
research programs have been conducted and continue now on brain architecture
reorganization, photoperiodic perception and respiratory adaptations. The Spa/ax
Genome Project has been recently advanced by FISH, genetic libraries, and
cloningofrespiratory, eye,andcircadian-rhythmgenes.
4. Genetic Diversity in Nature: Patterns and Theory (1969 - continuing actively
today)
Starting in the late 1960s and still continuing vigorously, Nevo embarked upon
anotherlong-term research.program aiming at unravelling patterns and processes
ofgenetic diversity and evolution in natural populations of plants and animals,
locally, regionally, and globally, i.e., bothmicro-and macrogeographically, and at
theprotein,DNA,andchromosomal levels. The mainthrustinvolvedthe interface
between genetics and ecology. It substantiated diverse selection theories at the
level of proteins (allozymes) in single and multilocus structures, DNA (RFLP,
DNA fingerprinting of mini- and microsatellites, RAPD peR, and AFLP) and
chromosomes, as explanatOl)' models best explaining genetic diversity and
divergence in nature. These studies rejected the neutral theory of molecular
evolution as a major theory of molecular evolution, and substantiated natural
selectionasaprimarydrivingforce ofmolecularevolution.
Besides demonstrating that natural selection orients evolution at both the
molecular and organismal levels, and highlighting the nature of allozyme
polymorphisms in nature, Nevo has described new biological species on the basis
ofmolecularbiology, includingmolecrickets(insects)in Israel, frogs in the USA,