The Major Transitions in Evolution 645344 216788698 2008-06-03T05:59:35Z Twas Now 977596 wikify table '''''The Major Transitions in Evolution''''' is a book written by [[John Maynard Smith]] and [[Eörs Szathmáry]] ([[Oxford University Press]], 1995). {| class="wikitable" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="75%" style="font-size:100%" |- ! colspan="3" | Transitions described in the book |- ! Transition from: ! Transition to: ! Notes |- | [[Replicating molecule]]s | "Populations" of [[molecule]]s in compartments | Can't observe |- | Independent replicators (probably [[RNA]]) | [[Chromosomes]] | [[RNA world hypothesis]] |- | RNA as both [[gene]]s and [[enzyme]]s | [[DNA]] as genes; [[protein]]s as enzymes | |- | [[Prokaryote]]s | [[Eukaryote]]s | Can observe |- | [[Asexuality|Asexual]] [[cloning|clones]] | [[Sex]]ual [[population]]s | [[Evolution of sex]] |- | [[Protist]]s | [[Multicellular organism]]s — [[animal]]s, [[plant]]s, [[fungus|fungi]] | [[Evolution of multicellularity]] |- | Solitary individuals | [[Colony (biology)|Colonies]] with non-reproductive [[caste]]s | |- | [[Primate]] societies | [[Human]] societies with [[language]], enabling [[meme]]s | [[Sociocultural evolution]] |} Maynard Smith and Szathmary identified several properties common to the transitions: # Smaller entities have often come about together to form larger entities. e.g. [[Chromosome]]s, [[eukaryote]]s, sex multicellular colonies. # Smaller entities often become differentiated as part of a larger entity. e.g. [[DNA]] & [[protein]], organelles, anisogamy, tissues, castes # The smaller entities are often unable to replicate in the absence of the larger entity. e.g. Organelles, tissues, castes # The smaller entities can sometimes disrupt the development of the larger entity e.g. Meiotic drive (selfish non-Mendelian genes), parthenogenesis, cancers, coup d’état # New ways of transmitting information have arisen.e.g. DNA-protein, cell heredity, epigenesis, [[universal grammar]]. ==See also== * [[Metasystem transition]], a related notion developed by [[Valentin Turchin]] in 1977. * [[Origin of life]] * [[Social evolution]] [[Category:Evolutionary biology literature|Major Transitions in Evolution, The]] [[Category:1995 books|Major Transitions in Evolution, The]] [[Category:Superorganisms]]