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The Microcosm within: An interview with William B. Miller, Jr., on the Extended Hologenome theory of evolution

There is a singular unifying reality underlying every biologic interaction on our planet. In immunology, that which does not kill you makes you different. -William B. Miller, Jr. We are experiencing a revolution in our understanding of inner space on a par with our exponentially increasing understan...

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Autor principal: Hunt, Tam
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Taylor & Francis 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4594229/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26478771
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2014.1000711
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description There is a singular unifying reality underlying every biologic interaction on our planet. In immunology, that which does not kill you makes you different. -William B. Miller, Jr. We are experiencing a revolution in our understanding of inner space on a par with our exponentially increasing understanding of outer space. In biology, we are learning that the genetic and epigenetic complexity within organisms is far deeper than suspected. This is a key theme in William B. Miller Jr.'s book, The Microcosm Within: Evolution and Extinction in the Hologenome. We are learning also that a focus on the human genome alone is misleading when it comes to who we really are as biological entities, and in terms of how we and other creatures have evolved. Rather than being defined by the human genome alone, we are instead defined by the “hologenome,” the sum of the human genome and the far larger genetic endowment of the microbiome and symbiotic communities that reside within and around us. Miller is a medical doctor previously in private practice in Pennsylvania and Phoenix, Arizona. This book is his first foray into evolutionary theory. His book could have been titled “The Origin of Variation” because this is his primary focus. He accepts that natural selection plays a role in evolution, but he demotes this mechanism to a less important role than the Modern Synthesis suggests. His main gripe, however, concerns random variation. He argues that random variation is unable to explain the origin and evolution of biological forms that we see in the world around us and in the historical record. Miller suggests that, rather than random variation as the engine of novelty, there is a creative impulse at the heart of cellular life, and even at the level of the genetic aggregate, that generates novelty on a regular basis. I probe this assertion in the interview below. He also highlights the strong role of “exogenous genetic assault” in variation and in his immunological model of evolution.
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spelling pubmed-45942292015-10-16 The Microcosm within: An interview with William B. Miller, Jr., on the Extended Hologenome theory of evolution Hunt, Tam Commun Integr Biol Perspectives There is a singular unifying reality underlying every biologic interaction on our planet. In immunology, that which does not kill you makes you different. -William B. Miller, Jr. We are experiencing a revolution in our understanding of inner space on a par with our exponentially increasing understanding of outer space. In biology, we are learning that the genetic and epigenetic complexity within organisms is far deeper than suspected. This is a key theme in William B. Miller Jr.'s book, The Microcosm Within: Evolution and Extinction in the Hologenome. We are learning also that a focus on the human genome alone is misleading when it comes to who we really are as biological entities, and in terms of how we and other creatures have evolved. Rather than being defined by the human genome alone, we are instead defined by the “hologenome,” the sum of the human genome and the far larger genetic endowment of the microbiome and symbiotic communities that reside within and around us. Miller is a medical doctor previously in private practice in Pennsylvania and Phoenix, Arizona. This book is his first foray into evolutionary theory. His book could have been titled “The Origin of Variation” because this is his primary focus. He accepts that natural selection plays a role in evolution, but he demotes this mechanism to a less important role than the Modern Synthesis suggests. His main gripe, however, concerns random variation. He argues that random variation is unable to explain the origin and evolution of biological forms that we see in the world around us and in the historical record. Miller suggests that, rather than random variation as the engine of novelty, there is a creative impulse at the heart of cellular life, and even at the level of the genetic aggregate, that generates novelty on a regular basis. I probe this assertion in the interview below. He also highlights the strong role of “exogenous genetic assault” in variation and in his immunological model of evolution. Taylor & Francis 2015-07-06 /pmc/articles/PMC4594229/ /pubmed/26478771 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2014.1000711 Text en © 2015 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted.
spellingShingle Perspectives
Hunt, Tam
The Microcosm within: An interview with William B. Miller, Jr., on the Extended Hologenome theory of evolution
title The Microcosm within: An interview with William B. Miller, Jr., on the Extended Hologenome theory of evolution
title_full The Microcosm within: An interview with William B. Miller, Jr., on the Extended Hologenome theory of evolution
title_fullStr The Microcosm within: An interview with William B. Miller, Jr., on the Extended Hologenome theory of evolution
title_full_unstemmed The Microcosm within: An interview with William B. Miller, Jr., on the Extended Hologenome theory of evolution
title_short The Microcosm within: An interview with William B. Miller, Jr., on the Extended Hologenome theory of evolution
title_sort microcosm within: an interview with william b. miller, jr., on the extended hologenome theory of evolution
topic Perspectives
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4594229/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26478771
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2014.1000711
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