UCSF

When evolutionary biology comes to mind, it is often accompanied by contemplating the vast amount of morphological or behavioral differences that exist between species. Whether Darwin’s finches or the pattern on an insect wing, we often reference these types of striking apparent visual differences in discussing the power of evolution. However, there are a growing number of examples that suggest that even core, fundamental processes like metabolism and mating are subject to evolutionary changes. In the face of these underlying evolutionary changes, the fundamental logic of these core processes must be conserved. A biosynthetic pathway must be upregulated in the face of nutrient starvation (Ch. 1), and a cellular identity must be conserved in order for mating to occur in yeast (Ch. 2), but how these logical outputs are maintained in spite of evolution acting on the molecules involved in these processes is the outstanding question explored in this work.