Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanism and Process in Physiological Evolution

Hochachka, Peter W.; Somero, George N.

ISBN 10: 0195117034 / ISBN 13: 9780195117035

Published by Oxford University Press, 2002

About this Item

Seller Inventory # Shelfdream0195117034

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanism and Process in Physiological Evolution
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195117034
• ISBN 13: 9780195117035
• Binding: paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The study of biochemical adaption provides fascinating insights into how organisms "work" and how they evolve to sustain physiological function under a vast array of environmental conditions. This book describes how the abilities of organisms to thrive in widely different environments derive from two fundamental classes of biochemical adaptions: modifications of core biochemical processes that allow a common set of physiological functions to be conserved, and "inventions" of new biochemical traits that allow entry into novel habitats. Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanisms and Process in Physiological Evolution asks two primary questions. First, how have the core biochemical systems found in all species been adaptively modified to allow the same fundamental types of physiological processes to be sustained throughout the wide range of habitat conditions found in the biosphere? Second, through what types of genetic and biochemical processes have new physiological functions been fabricated? The primary audience for this book is faculty, senior undergraduates, and graduate students in environmental biology, comparative physiology, and marine biology. Other likely readers include workers in governmental laboratories concerned with environmental issues, medical students interested in some elements of the book, and medical researchers.

About the Author

Peter W. Hochachka is at University of British Columbia. George N. Somero is at Stanford University.