TY - JOUR
T1 - How mitochondria showcase evolutionary mechanisms and the importance of oxygen
AU - Speijer, Dave
N1 - Funding Information: First of all, I sincerely thank two anonymous reviewers for their efforts: their careful and precise analyses improved the manuscript. I am also (though more paradoxically) grateful for the posting of an anonymous anti-Darwinist (https://evolutionnews.org/2022/11/revising-the-linnaean-system-where-to-locate-viruses-and-the-problem-with-mitochondria/; visited January 2023), which got me thinking more deeply about the matters discussed. I am often singled out for further criticism because I objected to many kinds of misinformation, including theirs, very effectively masquerading as science on the web.105 To end on an ironic note: this posting, for example, completely misrepresenting what my co-authors and I state about the nature of viruses,106 is the perfect example of the kind of disastrous spread of false information, under the guise of objectivity, that I rightfully objected to in the first place. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. BioEssays published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Darwinian evolution can be simply stated: natural selection of inherited variations increasing differential reproduction. However, formulated thus, links with biochemistry, cell biology, ecology, and population dynamics remain unclear. To understand interactive contributions of chance and selection, higher levels of biological organization (e.g., endosymbiosis), complexities of competing selection forces, and emerging biological novelties (such as eukaryotes or meiotic sex), we must analyze actual examples. Focusing on mitochondria, I will illuminate how biology makes sense of life's evolution, and the concepts involved. First, looking at the bacterium – mitochondrion transition: merging with an archaeon, it lost its independence, but played a decisive role in eukaryogenesis, as an extremely efficient aerobic ATP generator and internal ROS source. Second, surveying later mitochondrion adaptations and diversifications illustrates concepts such as constructive neutral evolution, dynamic interactions between endosymbionts and hosts, the contingency of life histories, and metabolic reprogramming. Without oxygen, mitochondria disappear; with (intermittent) oxygen diversification occurs in highly complex ways, especially upon (temporary) phototrophic substrate supply. These expositions show the Darwinian model to be a highly fruitful paradigm.
AB - Darwinian evolution can be simply stated: natural selection of inherited variations increasing differential reproduction. However, formulated thus, links with biochemistry, cell biology, ecology, and population dynamics remain unclear. To understand interactive contributions of chance and selection, higher levels of biological organization (e.g., endosymbiosis), complexities of competing selection forces, and emerging biological novelties (such as eukaryotes or meiotic sex), we must analyze actual examples. Focusing on mitochondria, I will illuminate how biology makes sense of life's evolution, and the concepts involved. First, looking at the bacterium – mitochondrion transition: merging with an archaeon, it lost its independence, but played a decisive role in eukaryogenesis, as an extremely efficient aerobic ATP generator and internal ROS source. Second, surveying later mitochondrion adaptations and diversifications illustrates concepts such as constructive neutral evolution, dynamic interactions between endosymbionts and hosts, the contingency of life histories, and metabolic reprogramming. Without oxygen, mitochondria disappear; with (intermittent) oxygen diversification occurs in highly complex ways, especially upon (temporary) phototrophic substrate supply. These expositions show the Darwinian model to be a highly fruitful paradigm.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150945060&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202300013
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202300013
M3 - Article
C2 - 36965057
SN - 0265-9247
VL - 45
JO - BioEssays
JF - BioEssays
IS - 6
M1 - 2300013
ER -