Walter M. Fitch
Walter Monroe Fitch (born May 21, 1929 in San Diego , † March 10, 2011 in Irvine , California ) was an American molecular biologist and evolutionary researcher. He is considered the founder of molecular phylogeny .
Walter Fitch earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1953 and a doctorate in biochemistry in 1958 . After several years of research as a post-doctoral student , he taught from 1962 to 1986 as a professor at the School of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin – Madison . He then moved to the University of Southern California , where he was professor of biology from 1986 to 1989 and then held a chair in ecology and evolutionary biology until his death.
In the 1960s and 1970s, among other things, he dealt with theories of evolution at the molecular level . He designed computer algorithms with the help of which the close relationship of organisms could be determined using protein or nucleotide sequences and graphically illustrated in phylogenetic trees using a distance matrix (“Fitch-Margoliash method” and “Fitch parsimony algorithm”). In particular, cytochrome c served as a model case . He developed methods to distinguish homologous and analogous structures in proteins, a prerequisite for the reconstruction of a tribal history on the basis of biochemical features.
His main scientific work is the study Construction of Phylogenetic Trees , published in Science in 1967 , which is regarded as one of the founding texts of molecular phylogeny . He also worked on reconstructing the molecular evolution of HI viruses and influenza viruses .
Walter Fitch headed the newly founded journal Molecular Biology and Evolution for ten years from 1983 and was co-founder and founding chairman of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution in 1992 . The Walter M. Fitch Award of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution was named after him in 1993 . He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, since 1991 the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , the Linnean Society of London and the American Philosophical Society .
On his death, Fitch left behind the almost completed manuscript for his book Logic, Rhetoric, and Science: And Why Creationism Fails at All Three , which was published by the University in March 2012 under the title The Three Failures of Creationism: Logic, Rhetoric, and Science of California has been released.
Fonts (selection)
- with Emanuel Margoliash: Construction of phylogenetic trees. In: Science . Volume 155, No. 3760, 1967, pp. 279–284, doi: 10.1126 / science.155.3760.279 , full text (PDF; 356 kB)
- with Emanuel Margoliash: A method for estimating the number of invariant amino acid coding positions in a gene using cytochrome c as a model case. In: Biochemical Genetics. Volume 1, No. 1, 1967, pp. 65-71, doi: 10.1007 / BF00487738
- Distinguishing homologous from analogous proteins. In: Systematic Biology. Volume 19, No. 2, 1970, pp. 99-113, doi: 10.2307 / 2412448
- Toward defining the course of evolution: minimum change for a specified tree topology. In: Systematic Zoology. Volume 20, No. 4, 1971, pp. 406–416, doi: 10.1093 / sysbio / 20.4.406 full text (PDF; 395 kB)
- The molecular evolution of cytochrome c in eukaryotes. In: Journal of Molecular Evolution. Volume 8, No. 1, 1976, pp. 13-40, doi: 10.1007 / BF01738880
- Homology: a personal view on some of the problems. Review article in: Trends in Genetics . Volume 16, No. 5, 2000, pp. 227-231, doi: 10.1016 / S0168-9525 (00) 02005-9
- Evolution is a fact. In: Joel Cracraft and Rodger W. Bybee (Eds.): Evolutionary Science and Society: Educating a New Generation. Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, Colorado Springs 2005, p. 22 ff., ISBN 1-929614-23-3 , full text (PDF; 5.5 MB)
Web links
- The National Center for Science Education March 14, 2011: Walter Fitch dies.
Individual evidence
- ^ William A. Atchley: Walter M. Fitch (1929-2011). In: Science , Volume 332, 2011, p. 804, doi: 10.1126 / science.1207426
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Fitch, Walter M. |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Fitch, Walter Monroe (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American molecular biologist and evolutionary researcher |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 21, 1929 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | San Diego |
DATE OF DEATH | March 10, 2011 |
Place of death | Irvine |