Burt, Austin ; Robert Trivers; Genes In Conflict : The Biology of Selfish Genetic Elements (2006)
Reviewer: Lee Carlson (Saint Louis, Missouri USA) from Amazon.com on Jan 22, 2006
The concept of a "selfish gene" has made its way into the popular and semi-popular press, and because of this has
provoked many discussions in ethical circles as well as in the area known as evolutionary psychology. Some of these
discussions attempt to set the record straight on just what biologists mean when they talk about selfish genes. This
book could be considered part of these discussions, and offers the reader a fascinating account of the science behind
what the authors call selfish genetic elements. The book however is not written for the popular audience, but instead
assumes a strong background in genetics. However the authors have included a terminology section in the back of the
book to assist non-experts in genetics (such as this reviewer). The authors are very careful to make distinctions between
what is known about selfish genes and what constitutes speculation. For readers who still need more discussion over
and above what the book gives, there is an extensive list of references included. In addition, the authors include a very
detailed summary of the book in the last chapter.
Every page of this book is filled with interesting insights, and many questions are answered as well as raised. Some of
the questions that this reviewer found interesting include:
1. What are the natures of genomic exclusion systems wherein chromosomes are discarded from one parent and
transmit only those from the other parent?
2. Why did paternal genome loss (PGL) evolve? Was it because of bacterial endosymbionts manipulating the
chromosomes of their hosts, and if so, what evidence is there for this? How common is PGL?
3. What is hybridogenesis and in what species does it occur? Why did it evolve?
4. Androgenesis is the loss of the maternal genome. How common is it and how risky is it for the species in which it
occurs?
5. The chromosomal system of the fungus gnat is described in the book as the most complex of any organism. What is
the nature of this complexity? And why do these gnats need such a complicated system?
6. Are there any species whose genome can benefit from outbreeding with closely related species?
7. How does a length of DNA distort its own transmission?
8. How fast do selfish genetic elements spread?
9. Can techniques from genetic engineering, such as transgenic strategies, suppress the spread of selfish genetic
elements?
10. Can the spread of selfish genetic elements be suppressed by recombination?
11. What is the nature of segregation disorder? How did it evolve?
12. The t haplotype in mice spans one third of chromosome 17, making it very large. How is such a large section of DNA
inherited? Why does it show drive in only one sex and what are the consequences of this?
13. What effects do selfish genetic elements have on the phenotype of the organism in which they occur?
14. What similarities are there between selfish genetic elements in terms of their genetic structure?
15. Can selfish genetic elements be created using techniques from genetic engineering?
16. What is the nature of maternal-effect dominant embryonic arrest (Medea)?
17. Why are maternal-effect killers more common than gamete killers?
18. Gametophyte factors are genes that act in the styles of plants in order to kill pollen in which they are absent. Why are
they so prevalent?
19. Do killer X chromosomes ever cause species extinction?
20. In what species do killer Y-chromosomes occur?
21. Why is Y drive expected to cause more population extinction than X drive?
22. Why are killer sex chromosomes more prevalent in insects (dipterans) than mammals?
23. Why did meiotic sex chromosome inactivation evolve?
24. What is the nature of genomic imprinting? Why did it evolve?
25. Can genetic memory extend back for more than one generation?
26. Why do adult male chimeric mice possessing a large amount of parthenogenetic cells in their brains very aggressive
towards other males?
27. Can imprinted genes affect brain function, and if so, what are the consequences of this for the organism?
28. Why do selfish mitochondrial genomes have a replication advantage over normal mitochondrial genomes in
selection within organisms?
29. What evidence is there that uniparental inheritance evolved to prevent the spread of selfish mitochondria?
30. Why did doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) evolve in freshwater mussels?
31. Does DUI lead to more recombination, and therefore to more effective evolution?
32. What is cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and how is it used in hybrid seed production in plants?
33. Homing endonuclease genes (HEG) can transfer between species. What advantages does this have for the
persistence of these genes?
34. How are artificial HEGs used in genetic engineering?
35. Can selfish genetic elements be used to cure human diseases?
36. Transposable elements are described as being the most prevalent of the selfish genetic elements. What different
types of transposable elements are there?
37. What are helitrons?
38. Why do DNA transposons persist for so long?
39. What evidence is there for the horizontal transmission of DNA transposons?
40. Are there any beneficial consequences of transposable element inserts?
41. About one-half of the mammalian genome is composed of transposable elements. What advantages does the
genome have in possessing such a large number of transposable elements?
42. Large genomes have been shown to reduce the number of cells per unit brain size and the number of
interconnections between them. What is the connection, if any, between selfish genetic elements and the intelligence of
the organism?
43. Through more research of the type described in many parts of this book, will it be shown that every organism has
some type of selfish genetic element? If some species lack selfish genetic elements, why do they have this property and
what caused these elements to be suppressed in the course of evolution?
44. Do selfish genetic elements have any connection with determining sexual preferences in humans?
45. Can selfish genetic elements be induced by environmental or external pressures?
Reviewer: Lee Carlson (Saint Louis, Missouri USA) from Amazon.com on Jan 22, 2006
The concept of a "selfish gene" has made its way into the popular and semi-popular press, and because of this has
provoked many discussions in ethical circles as well as in the area known as evolutionary psychology. Some of these
discussions attempt to set the record straight on just what biologists mean when they talk about selfish genes. This
book could be considered part of these discussions, and offers the reader a fascinating account of the science behind
what the authors call selfish genetic elements. The book however is not written for the popular audience, but instead
assumes a strong background in genetics. However the authors have included a terminology section in the back of the
book to assist non-experts in genetics (such as this reviewer). The authors are very careful to make distinctions between
what is known about selfish genes and what constitutes speculation. For readers who still need more discussion over
and above what the book gives, there is an extensive list of references included. In addition, the authors include a very
detailed summary of the book in the last chapter.
Every page of this book is filled with interesting insights, and many questions are answered as well as raised. Some of
the questions that this reviewer found interesting include:
1. What are the natures of genomic exclusion systems wherein chromosomes are discarded from one parent and
transmit only those from the other parent?
2. Why did paternal genome loss (PGL) evolve? Was it because of bacterial endosymbionts manipulating the
chromosomes of their hosts, and if so, what evidence is there for this? How common is PGL?
3. What is hybridogenesis and in what species does it occur? Why did it evolve?
4. Androgenesis is the loss of the maternal genome. How common is it and how risky is it for the species in which it
occurs?
5. The chromosomal system of the fungus gnat is described in the book as the most complex of any organism. What is
the nature of this complexity? And why do these gnats need such a complicated system?
6. Are there any species whose genome can benefit from outbreeding with closely related species?
7. How does a length of DNA distort its own transmission?
8. How fast do selfish genetic elements spread?
9. Can techniques from genetic engineering, such as transgenic strategies, suppress the spread of selfish genetic
elements?
10. Can the spread of selfish genetic elements be suppressed by recombination?
11. What is the nature of segregation disorder? How did it evolve?
12. The t haplotype in mice spans one third of chromosome 17, making it very large. How is such a large section of DNA
inherited? Why does it show drive in only one sex and what are the consequences of this?
13. What effects do selfish genetic elements have on the phenotype of the organism in which they occur?
14. What similarities are there between selfish genetic elements in terms of their genetic structure?
15. Can selfish genetic elements be created using techniques from genetic engineering?
16. What is the nature of maternal-effect dominant embryonic arrest (Medea)?
17. Why are maternal-effect killers more common than gamete killers?
18. Gametophyte factors are genes that act in the styles of plants in order to kill pollen in which they are absent. Why are
they so prevalent?
19. Do killer X chromosomes ever cause species extinction?
20. In what species do killer Y-chromosomes occur?
21. Why is Y drive expected to cause more population extinction than X drive?
22. Why are killer sex chromosomes more prevalent in insects (dipterans) than mammals?
23. Why did meiotic sex chromosome inactivation evolve?
24. What is the nature of genomic imprinting? Why did it evolve?
25. Can genetic memory extend back for more than one generation?
26. Why do adult male chimeric mice possessing a large amount of parthenogenetic cells in their brains very aggressive
towards other males?
27. Can imprinted genes affect brain function, and if so, what are the consequences of this for the organism?
28. Why do selfish mitochondrial genomes have a replication advantage over normal mitochondrial genomes in
selection within organisms?
29. What evidence is there that uniparental inheritance evolved to prevent the spread of selfish mitochondria?
30. Why did doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) evolve in freshwater mussels?
31. Does DUI lead to more recombination, and therefore to more effective evolution?
32. What is cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and how is it used in hybrid seed production in plants?
33. Homing endonuclease genes (HEG) can transfer between species. What advantages does this have for the
persistence of these genes?
34. How are artificial HEGs used in genetic engineering?
35. Can selfish genetic elements be used to cure human diseases?
36. Transposable elements are described as being the most prevalent of the selfish genetic elements. What different
types of transposable elements are there?
37. What are helitrons?
38. Why do DNA transposons persist for so long?
39. What evidence is there for the horizontal transmission of DNA transposons?
40. Are there any beneficial consequences of transposable element inserts?
41. About one-half of the mammalian genome is composed of transposable elements. What advantages does the
genome have in possessing such a large number of transposable elements?
42. Large genomes have been shown to reduce the number of cells per unit brain size and the number of
interconnections between them. What is the connection, if any, between selfish genetic elements and the intelligence of
the organism?
43. Through more research of the type described in many parts of this book, will it be shown that every organism has
some type of selfish genetic element? If some species lack selfish genetic elements, why do they have this property and
what caused these elements to be suppressed in the course of evolution?
44. Do selfish genetic elements have any connection with determining sexual preferences in humans?
45. Can selfish genetic elements be induced by environmental or external pressures?
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