Extended evolutionary synthesis

The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) consists of a set of theoretical concepts argued to be more comprehensive than the earlier modern synthesis of evolutionary biology that took place between 1918 and 1942. The extended evolutionary synthesis was called for in the 1950s by C. H. Waddington, argued for on the basis of punctuated equilibrium by Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge in the 1980s, and was reconceptualized in 2007 by Massimo Pigliucci and Gerd B. Müller.

The extended evolutionary synthesis revisits the relative importance of different factors at play, examining several assumptions of the earlier synthesis, and augmenting it with additional causative factors.^[1]^[2] It includes multilevel selection, transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, niche construction, evolvability, and several concepts from evolutionary developmental biology.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Not all biologists have agreed on the need for, or the scope of, an extended synthesis.^[7]^[8]^[9] Many have collaborated on another synthesis in evolutionary developmental biology, which concentrates on developmental molecular genetics and evolution to understand how natural selection operated on developmental processes and deep homologies between organisms at the level of highly conserved genes.

^ Wade, Michael J. (2011). "The Neo-Modern Synthesis: The Confluence of New Data and Explanatory Concepts". BioScience. 61 (5): 407–408. doi:10.1525/bio.2011.61.5.10.
^ Laland, Kevin N.; Uller, Tobias; Feldman, Marcus W.; Sterelny, Kim; Müller, Gerd B.; Moczek, Armin; Jablonka, Eva; Odling-Smee, John (2015-08-22). "The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions". Proc. R. Soc. B. 282 (1813): 20151019. doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.1019. PMC 4632619. PMID 26246559.
^ Danchin, É.; Charmantier, A.; Champagne, F. A.; Mesoudi, A.; Pujol, B.; Blanchet, S (2011). "Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution". Nature Reviews Genetics. 12 (7): 475–486. doi:10.1038/nrg3028. PMID 21681209. S2CID 8837202.
^ Pigliucci, Massimo; Finkelman, Leonard (2014). "The Extended (Evolutionary) Synthesis Debate: Where Science Meets Philosophy". BioScience. 64 (6): 511–516. doi:10.1093/biosci/biu062.
^ Laubichler, Manfred D.; Renn, Jürgen (2015). "Extended evolution: A Conceptual Framework for Integrating Regulatory Networks and Niche Construction". Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. 324 (7): 565–577. doi:10.1002/jez.b.22631. PMC 4744698. PMID 26097188.
^ Müller, Gerd B. (December 2007). "Evo–devo: extending the evolutionary synthesis". Nature Reviews Genetics. 8 (12): 943–949. doi:10.1038/nrg2219. PMID 17984972. S2CID 19264907.
^ Svensson, Erik I. (2023). "The Structure of Evolutionary Theory: Beyond Neo-Darwinism, Neo-Lamarckism and Biased Historical Narratives About the Modern Synthesis". Evolutionary Biology: Contemporary and Historical Reflections Upon Core Theory. Evolutionary Biology – New Perspectives on Its Development. Vol. 6. pp. 173–217. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-22028-9_11. ISBN 978-3-031-22027-2.
^ Charlesworth D, Barton NH, Charlesworth B. (2017). "The sources of adaptive variation". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 284 (1855): 20162864. doi:10.1098/rspb.2016.2864. PMC 5454256. PMID 28566483.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Futuyma, Douglas J. (2017). "Evolutionary biology today and the call for an extended synthesis". Interface Focus. 7 (5): 20160145. doi:10.1098/rsfs.2016.0145. PMC 5566807. PMID 28839919.

[1] Wade, Michael J. (2011). "The Neo-Modern Synthesis: The Confluence of New Data and Explanatory Concepts". BioScience. 61 (5): 407–408. doi:10.1525/bio.2011.61.5.10.

[Laland_Uller_Feldman_2015-2] Laland, Kevin N.; Uller, Tobias; Feldman, Marcus W.; Sterelny, Kim; Müller, Gerd B.; Moczek, Armin; Jablonka, Eva; Odling-Smee, John (2015-08-22). "The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions". Proc. R. Soc. B. 282 (1813): 20151019. doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.1019. PMC 4632619. PMID 26246559.

[beyonddna-3] Danchin, É.; Charmantier, A.; Champagne, F. A.; Mesoudi, A.; Pujol, B.; Blanchet, S (2011). "Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution". Nature Reviews Genetics. 12 (7): 475–486. doi:10.1038/nrg3028. PMID 21681209. S2CID 8837202.

[pigliucci-4] Pigliucci, Massimo; Finkelman, Leonard (2014). "The Extended (Evolutionary) Synthesis Debate: Where Science Meets Philosophy". BioScience. 64 (6): 511–516. doi:10.1093/biosci/biu062.

[Laubichler_2015-5] Laubichler, Manfred D.; Renn, Jürgen (2015). "Extended evolution: A Conceptual Framework for Integrating Regulatory Networks and Niche Construction". Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. 324 (7): 565–577. doi:10.1002/jez.b.22631. PMC 4744698. PMID 26097188.

[6] Müller, Gerd B. (December 2007). "Evo–devo: extending the evolutionary synthesis". Nature Reviews Genetics. 8 (12): 943–949. doi:10.1038/nrg2219. PMID 17984972. S2CID 19264907.

[Svensson_2023-7] Svensson, Erik I. (2023). "The Structure of Evolutionary Theory: Beyond Neo-Darwinism, Neo-Lamarckism and Biased Historical Narratives About the Modern Synthesis". Evolutionary Biology: Contemporary and Historical Reflections Upon Core Theory. Evolutionary Biology – New Perspectives on Its Development. Vol. 6. pp. 173–217. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-22028-9_11. ISBN 978-3-031-22027-2.

[8] Charlesworth D, Barton NH, Charlesworth B. (2017). "The sources of adaptive variation". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 284 (1855): 20162864. doi:10.1098/rspb.2016.2864. PMC 5454256. PMID 28566483.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[9] Futuyma, Douglas J. (2017). "Evolutionary biology today and the call for an extended synthesis". Interface Focus. 7 (5): 20160145. doi:10.1098/rsfs.2016.0145. PMC 5566807. PMID 28839919.

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