Adaptive Evolution of Genes and Genomes

by Hughes, Austin L.

• ISBN13: 9780195116267
• ISBN10: 0195116267
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-01-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This valuable book thoroughly examines adaptive evolution at the DNA level while taking a comprehensive look at the research being done in the area. It presents useful cases where signals of adaptive evolution are detected through neutral molecular evolution, providing a powerful strategy for testing the Darwinian hypothesis of natural selection. By bridging the gap between research on molecular and phenotype evolution and contributing to the unification of the biological sciences, this book will especially appeal to researchers and graduate students in the field of evolutionary biology. Also, with its focus on particular protein molecules and on specific domains of these proteins, it will benefit a wider audience of both evolutionary and functional biologists.

Author Biography

Austin L. Hughes is Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina.

Table of Contents

What Is Adaptive Evolution?	3	(15)
Methods of Sequence Analysis	15	(23)
The Neutral Theory	38	(16)
Balancing Selection: The Major Histocompatibility Complex	54	(36)
Other Examples of Balancing Selection	90	(29)
Directional Selection	119	(24)
Evolution of New Protein Function	143	(37)
Adaptive Characteristics of Genomes	180	(42)
Conclusions	222	(19)
References	241	(24)
Index	265