"Molecular evolution is the process of change in the sequence composition of cellular molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins across generations."
The study of the changes in genes and proteins that drive evolutionary processes.
Phylogenetics: The study of evolutionary relationships through analysis of molecular data and construction of phylogenetic trees.
Genome evolution: The study of changes in the size, structure, gene content, and organization of genomes over time.
Molecular clocks: The use of rate of molecular changes to estimate the time elapsed since two species diverged from a common ancestor.
Genetic variation: The differences in DNA sequences that occur within and between species and the mechanisms driving them.
Population genetics: The study of the distribution of genetic variation in populations and the factors that affect it.
Selection: The process by which certain traits or alleles become more or less common in a population due to their influence on survival and reproduction.
Adaptation: The modification of an organism or its parts that makes it better suited to its environment.
Co-evolution: The reciprocal evolutionary change that occurs when two or more species interact over time.
Molecular ecology: The study of how molecular patterns and processes shape ecological systems and vice versa.
Comparative genomics: The analysis of similarities and differences in gene content, structure, and function across different organisms.
Gene expression: The regulation of gene activity and expression over time and in response to environmental conditions.
Epigenetics: The study of heritable changes in gene expression and phenotype that occur without changes in DNA sequence.
Systematics: The study of biodiversity, species diversity, and evolutionary relationships among organisms.
Paleobiology: The study of the history of life on Earth through fossils and other physical evidence.
Molecular anthropology: The study of human evolution and migration patterns using molecular data.
Substitution: This is the most common type of molecular evolution in which one nucleotide (or amino acid) is replaced by another due to a point mutation.
Insertions and deletions (indels): When one or more nucleotides are inserted or deleted from the DNA sequence, it results in indels. These can lead to frameshift mutations that alter the reading frame of the gene and have a significant impact on the resulting protein.
Gene duplication: When a gene is duplicated, it creates a new copy of the gene in the genome. The new gene copy can evolve differently than the original, leading to diversification and specialization of functions.
Horizontal gene transfer: This occurs when genes are transferred between different individuals or species via mechanisms such as viruses, plasmids, transposons or fusion events. It can accelerate evolution by allowing beneficial traits to spread quickly across a population or species.
Recombination: This occurs when sections of DNA from different sources are combined to produce a new sequence. This process can generate novel gene combinations, leading to the evolution of new functions.
Convergent evolution: This is the evolutionary process in which unrelated organisms evolve similar traits independently due to similar selection pressures. At the molecular level, this might involve the same gene being subject to the same selective pressures in different lineages, resulting in similar modifications.
Coevolution: This type of evolution occurs when two or more species evolve in response to one another in a mutually beneficial or antagonistic manner, leading to the development of molecular adaptations that allow them to interact more effectively.
Molecular drive: This is the non-random fixation of nucleotide or amino acid substitutions in a gene, driven by the action of selection on other parts of the genome or other levels of organization.
Structural evolution: This involves changes in the arrangement, expression, regulation or function of genes, and can occur through mechanisms such as gene fusion, gain or loss of introns, exons or domains; changes in splicing patterns or post-transcriptional modification.
Epigenetic evolution: This refers to changes in gene expression patterns that are not caused by changes in the DNA sequence but by modifications to the chromatin structure, such as DNA methylation or histone modification.
"The field of molecular evolution uses principles of evolutionary biology and population genetics to explain patterns in these changes."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the rates and impacts of single nucleotide changes, neutral evolution vs. natural selection, origins of new genes, the genetic nature of complex traits, the genetic basis of speciation, the evolution of development, and ways that evolutionary forces influence genomic and phenotypic changes."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the rates and impacts of single nucleotide changes."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the rates and impacts of single nucleotide changes, neutral evolution vs. natural selection."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the origins of new genes."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the genetic nature of complex traits."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the genetic basis of speciation."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the evolution of development."
"Ways that evolutionary forces influence genomic and phenotypic changes."
"Molecular evolution is the process of change in the sequence composition of cellular molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins across generations."
"The field of molecular evolution uses principles of evolutionary biology and population genetics to explain patterns in these changes."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the rates and impacts of single nucleotide changes."
"Neutral evolution vs. natural selection."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the origins of new genes."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the genetic nature of complex traits."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the genetic basis of speciation."
"Major topics in molecular evolution concern the evolution of development."
"Ways that evolutionary forces influence genomic and phenotypic changes."
"The field of molecular evolution uses principles of evolutionary biology and population genetics to explain patterns in these changes."