Abstract: Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality
Evolutionary transitions in individuality (ETIs) are major transitions in the history of life during which the unit of evolution and adaptation, the evolutionary individual, has changed. Examples include the origin of the cellular genome from cooperative networks of genes, the evolution of complex eukaryotic cells from archaeal and bacterial cells, and the evolution of multicellular organisms from unicellular ones. ETIs are rare events having happened dozens of time during the history of life on earth. Although rare, ETIs have had major consequences on the organization of biodiversity - bestowing on life its hierarchical structure. In todayâs talk we discuss how mathematical models have been used to study ETIs.