Sterner, Beckett and Elliott, Steve and Wideman, Jeremy (2023) An account of conserved functions and how biologists use them to integrate cell and evolutionary biology. Biology & Philosophy.

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Abstract

We characterize a type of functional explanation that addresses why a homologous trait originating deep in the evolutionary history of a group remains widespread and largely unchanged across the group’s lineages. We argue that biologists regularly provide this type of explanation when they attribute conserved functions to pheno- typic and genetic traits. The concept of conserved function applies broadly to many biological domains, and we illustrate its importance using examples of molecular sequence alignments at the intersection of evolution and cell biology. We use these examples to show how the study of conserved functions can integrate knowledge of a trait’s causal effects on fitness and its history of natural selection without invok- ing adaptation. We also show how conserved function provides a novel basis for addressing objections against evolutionary functions raised by Robert Cummins.

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Sterner, Beckett bsterne1@asu.edu 0000-0001-5219-7616 Elliott, Steve stephen.elliott@asu.edu 0000-0002-7736-1002 Wideman, Jeremy jeremy.wideman@asu.edu
Keywords:	Functional explanation, Function prediction, Conserved sequence, Conserved trait, Purifying selection, Negative selection, Sequence alignment, Species design, Role function, Evolutionary function
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics General Issues > Explanation
Depositing User:	Dr. Beckett Sterner
Date Deposited:	03 Jun 2025 13:12
Last Modified:	03 Jun 2025 13:12
Item ID:	25541
Journal or Publication Title:	Biology & Philosophy
Publisher:	Springer
Official URL:	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-023-09933-x
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1007/s10539-023-09933-x
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics General Issues > Explanation
Date:	2023
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25541

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• An account of conserved functions and how biologists use them to integrate cell and evolutionary biology. (deposited 18 Nov 2022 14:56)
  • An account of conserved functions and how biologists use them to integrate cell and evolutionary biology. (deposited 03 Jun 2025 13:12) [Currently Displayed]

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