Evolutionary Cell Biology

The fields of molecular evolution, genome evolution, and evolutionary genetics are now well established. Remarkably, however, although all evolutionary modifications begin at the cellular level, and despite the advances made in cell biology and microbiology over the past few decades, there is as yet no recognized discipline of evolutionary cell biology. The goal of this book is to help establish the foundations for this newly-emerging field. Its principal aims are twofold: first, to promote an understanding among evolutionary biologists as to why the cellular details matter if we are to understand the mechanisms of evolution; second, to make clear to non-evolutionary biologists – cell biologists in particular – that evolution is not just a matter of natural selection and optimization, but a process whose reach depends on other population-genetic features such as mutation, recombination, and random genetic drift. Although there are many excellent books on cell biology, microbiology, and biophysics, almost no attention is given to evolution. Likewise, although there are numerous evolutionary biology books on the market, none of them gives more than passing attention to details at the cellular level. Thus, Evolutionary Cell Biology offers a broader understanding of evolutionary processes and an appreciation for the many interesting problems that remain to be solved at the cellular and subcellular levels. Narrative is aimed at both cell biologists and evolutionary biologists. It will be accessible to upper-level undergraduates in biology, and certainly to graduate students in all areas of the life sciences. Professionals from a wide range of fields – cell biology, microbiology, evolution, biophysics, biochemistry, and mathematics – will be exposed to entirely new ideas not traditionally covered in their primary fields of expertise.