Acquiring Genomes A Theory Of The Origin Of Species

How do species originate? In this groundbreaking book, Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan present an answer to the one enduring mystery of evolution that Charles Darwin never solved: the source of the inherited variation that gives rise to new species. The authors argue that random mutation, claimed to be the main source of genetic variation, is of only limited importance. Much more significant is the acquisition and integration of new genomes by symbiotic merger. The result of thirty years of delving into a vast, mostly arcane literature, this is the first book to go beyond -- and reveal the extent of -- the dogmatic thinking that has dominated evolutionary biology since the early 20th century. Lynn Margulis, whom E.O. Wilson called "one of the most successful synthetic thinkers in modern biology," and co-author Dorion Sagan present a comprehensive and scientifically accurate theory that directly challenges popular assumptions about evolution and the diversity in the living world. Book jacket.

Lynn Margulis, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1983. She is best known for her pathbreaking work on the bacterial origins of cell organelles and for her collaboration with James Lovelock on Gaia theory. Her previous books include Symbiosis in Cell Evolution; Five Kingdoms (with K. V. Schwartz); and (with Dorion Sagan) Origins of Sex, Garden of Microbial Delights, What Is Life?, What Is Sex?, and Slanted Truths: Essays on Gaia, Symbiosis and Evolution. Lynn Margulis, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of the 1999 Presidential Medal of Science, is Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dorion Sagan is the author of Biospheres and the co-author of Up from Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence. He lives in New York City.