Molecular evolution
As Molecular Evolution is the process of evolution on the levels of DNA , RNA and proteins .
Molecular evolution emerged as a branch of science in the 1960s as scientists in molecular biology , evolutionary biology , and population genetics sought to understand the structure and function of nucleic acids and proteins. In the past, important issues were the evolution of enzyme function, the use of the molecular clock in the investigation of speciation (speciation) and the origin of non-functional RNA ( junk DNA ). Advances in DNA sequencing , protein characterization, and bioinformatics have led to increased interest in these topics. Active themes in the 2000s were the role of gene duplication in the creation of new gene functions and adaptive molecular evolution as opposed to neutral drift.
Important topics and scientists of molecular evolution are:
- Mutation , selection
- Change in allele frequency , see also population genetics
- Genetic drift
- migration
- Neutral theory of molecular evolution ( Motoo Kimura )
- Evolutionary adaptation , also: Adaptive Evolution ( Masatoshi Nei )
- Phylogeny ( Walter M. Fitch , Joe Felsenstein )
- RNA world ( Walter Gilbert )
- Gene duplication ( Susumu Ohno )
- Mathematical Foundations of Adaptation ( John H. Gillespie )
literature
- Wen-Hsiung Li : Molecular Evolution . Sinauer, 2006, ISBN 0878934804 .
- Michael Lynch : The Origins of Genome Architecture . Sinauer, 2007, ISBN 0878934847 .