Reticulate Evolution and Humans : Origins and Ecology

This book describes the important role that the transfer of genes between organisms has played during the origin and evolution of humans, and the evolution of organisms on which the human species depends for shelter, sustenance and companionship.

Reticulate Evolution and Humans is the first book to describe the effect of genetic exchange on the origin and evolution of our own species as well as those species with which we have and continue to interact closely, both evolutionarily and culturally. After demonstrating how genetic exchange has affected H. sapiens, the book goes on to describe how the same processes have structured the evolution of organisms on which the human species depends for shelter, sustenance and companionship. It also considers the ¨dark-side¨ of gene transfer as it pertains to the evolution and adaptation of human disease vectors and diseases.The development of the central thesis of this book - that reticulate evolution via introgressive hybridization and lateral gene transfer has been a pervasive factor in the evolution and cultural development of H. sapiens, its ancestors, sister taxa and associated organisms - reveals the extent of these processes across the widest of taxonomic, temporal and spatial bounds. We cannot escape the conclusion that we are constantly fed, entertained, sheltered, attacked and killed by organisms that possess mosaic genomes reflective of widespread genetic exchange during evolutionary diversification.