Abstract
Evolutionary cell biology is the modern synthesis of both evolutionary and cell biology. This emerging field has coalesced around understanding the function, origin, and diversification of cell features spanning multiple levels of biological organization from individual proteins to multicellular interactions. These studies broadly embody two mirrored themes: (1) Using evolutionary theory to advance cell biology and (2) Using cell biology to refine evolutionary theory. Here we provide a broad overview of the field, then explore two case studies that show how evolutionary cell biology can be used to study the origin, evolution, and functions of crucial cellular features. Each example illustrates the investigative power that arises from this synthesis of evolutionary and cell biology. Because this text is a primer on the topic of evolutionary cell biology, we have chosen to reference in-depth reviews that explore each topic more fully and serve as a gateway to primary literature on the subject.
Published Version
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