Evolutionary Biology: Exobiology and Evolutionary Mechanisms

1. The First Experiments on Ascidian and Sea Urchin Eggs Fertilization
Margherita Raineri, Erki Tammiksaar

Part II. Evolutionary Biology Concepts

2. Ontic Openness as Key Factor in the Evolution of Biological Systems
Søren Nors Nielsen, Claus Emmeche

3. Effects of Epistasis and Pleiotropy on Fitness Landscapes
Bjørn Østman

Part III. Exobiology and the Origin of Life

4. The Origin of Life, Evolution, and Functional Organization
Wim Hordijk, Mike Steel, Stuart Kauffman

5. Interactions of Clay Minerals with RNA Components
Hideo Hashizume, Sjerry Gaast, Benny K. G. Theng

6. Bottom–Up Protocell Design: Gaining Insights in the Emergence of Complex Functions
Rafał Wieczorek, Michael C. Wamberg, Anders N. Albertsen, Philipp M. G. Löffler, Pierre-Alain Monnard

7. From Life to Exolife: The Interdependence of Astrobiology and Evolutionary Biology
Jack T. O’Malley-James, Stefanie Lutz

8. The Possible Roles of Water in the Prebiotic Chemical Evolution of DNA: An Approach by Single Molecule Studies
Shuxun Cui

Part IV. Evolutionary Mechanisms

9. Domain Architecture Evolution of Metazoan Proteins
László Patthy

10. Of Trees and Bushes: Phylogenetic Networks as Tools to Detect, Visualize and Model Reticulate Evolution
Antonio Hernandez-Lopez

11. Horizontal Acquisition of Prokaryotic Genes for Eukaryote Functioning and Niche Adaptation
Maxime Bruto, Claire Prigent-Combaret, Patricia Luis, Grégory Hoff, Yvan Moënne-Loccoz, Daniel Muller

12. Molecular Evolution of Disrupted Transfer RNA Genes and Their Introns in Archaea
Akio Kanai

13. Memory of Temperature in the Seasonal Control of Flowering Time: An Unexplored Link Between Meteorology and Molecular Biology
Hiroshi Kudoh, Atsushi J. Nagano

14. Current Approaches in Spatial Genetics
V. Montano, A. Eriksson, A. Manica, Y. Moodley

15. Consequences of Segregation and Genetic Exchange on Adaptability in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF)
Caroline Angelard, Ian R. Sanders

16. Mitochondrial Genes, Sex Determination and Hermaphroditism in Freshwater Mussels (Bivalvia: Unionoida)
Donald T. Stewart, Walter R. Hoeh, Gerhard Bauer, Sophie Breton

17. Variable Lymphocyte Receptors in Jawless Vertebrates: Illuminating the Origin and Early Evolution of Adaptive Immunity
Sabyasachi Das, Masayuki Hirano

18. An Evo-Devo Perspective on Hybrid Infertility and Speciation
Priscilla Ambrosi, Sebastian Chahda, Emma Yang, Rui Sousa-Neves, Claudia M. Mizutani

19. Genetic and Molecular Dissection of Animal Decision-Making: A New Frontier for Genetic Analysis
Youngmin Chu, Joseph Schinaman, Rui Sousa-Neves

Keywords: Life Sciences, Evolutionary Biology, Animal Genetics and Genomics, Plant Genetics & Genomics, Biodiversity, Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography, Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography