This book illustrates the role of cellular oxidative stress as one of the most important physiological cornerstones in the evolution of biodiversity. The first part of the book provides the fundamentals to navigate the field and analyse the cross-talk between oxidative status homeostasis and other fundamental organismal functions, such as immunity and stress physiology. The second part of the book argues that oxidative stress underpins the astonishing diversity of adaptations to the environments and the evolution of life-history strategies, from growth to reproduction. Unravelling the (un)expected ways through which the need of regulating the organismal oxidative status has influenced the evolution of life, this book presents a novel integrative way of thinking about how a cellular mechanism has shaped the evolution of life and death.

Autorentext

David Costantini is Professor of Physiology and Ecophysiology at the Tuscia University (Italy). His research combines studies of mechanisms and functions to understand the causes and consequences of phenotypic variation in animals. He is author of more than 170 scientific publications. He has been awarded an international prize for a scholar of zoology and evolution from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. He has been included in the list of the world's most cited scientists published from Stanford University.