Molecular Evolution: Neutral Theory

Naoyuki Takahata, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Kanagawa, Japan

Published online: December 2007

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001800.pub2

The neutral theory is shorthand for the theory that at the molecular level evolutionary changes and polymorphisms are mainly due to selectively neutral mutations; thus, their behaviour and fate are determined by mutation and random drift. The theory explains polymorphism as a transient phase of molecular evolution, and demands a dichotomy between molecular and phenotypic evolution.

Keywords: neutrality; natural selection; population genetics; selective constraint

 References
    Britten RJ (1986) Rates of DNA sequence evolution differ between taxonomic groups. Science 231: 1393–1398.
    book Fisher RA (1930) The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection, 2nd edn. New York: Dover Press.
    book Hartl DL and Clark AG (1997) Principles of Population Genetics, 3rd edn. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.
    Kimura M (1968) Evolutionary rate at the molecular level. Nature 217: 624–626.
    Kimura M (1981) Possibility of extensive neutral evolution under stabilizing selection with special reference to nonrandom usage of synonymous codons. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 78: 5773–5777.
    Kimura M and Ohta T (1971) Protein polymorphism as a phase of molecular evolution. Nature 229: 467–469.
    King JL and Jukes TH (1969) Non-Darwinian evolution. Science 164: 788–798.
    King MC and Wilson AC (1975) Evolution at two levels: molecular similarities and biological differences between humans and chimpanzees. Science 188: 107–116.
    Perutz MF (1983) Species adaptation in a protein molecule. Molecular Biology and Evolution 1: 1–28.
    Takahata N (1993) Allelic genealogy and human evolution. Molecular Biology and Evolution 10: 2–22.
 Further Reading
    book Kimura M (1983) The Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    book Kimura M (1994) Population Genetics, Molecular Evolution, and The Neutral Theory, Selected papers; Takahata N (ed.) with a foreword by Crow JF. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
    book Li WH (1997) Molecular Evolution. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.
    book Nei M (1987) Molecular Evolutionary Genetics. New York: Columbia University Press.
    Ohta T (2002) Near-neutrality in evolution of genes and gene regulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 99: 16134–16137.
    Takahata N (1996) Neutral theory of molecular evolution. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development 6: 767–772.
    other Takahata N and Kimura M (1994) The neutral theory of molecular evolution. In: Bittar EE and Bittar N (eds) Principles of Medical Biology, vol. 1B, Evolutionary Biology, pp. 205–234. London: JAI Press.

Related Sub-Topics:

Molecular Evolution | Evolution: Theories and Ideas | Evolutionary Processes | Variation by Mutation and Recombination | Evolution of Coding and Functional Modules
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Article Title: Molecular Evolution: Neutral Theory
 
How to Cite close
Takahata, Naoyuki(Dec 2007) Molecular Evolution: Neutral Theory. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001800.pub2]