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1 - Basic concepts of molecular evolution

from Section I - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Anne-Mieke Vandamme
Edited by
Philippe Lemey ,
Marco Salemi  and
Anne-Mieke Vandamme
Philippe Lemey
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Marco Salemi
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
Anne-Mieke Vandamme
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
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Summary

Genetic information

It was the striking phenotypic variation of finches in the Galapagos Islands that inspired Darwin to draft his theory of evolution. His idea of a branching process of evolution was also consistent with the knowledge of fossil researchers who revealed phenotypic variation over long periods of time. Today, evolution can be observed in real time by scientists, with the fastest evolution occurring in viruses within months, resulting, for example, in rapid development of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug resistance. The phenotype of living organisms is always a result of the genetic information that they carry and pass on to the next generation and its interaction with the environment. Thus, if we want to study the driving force of evolution, we have to investigate the changes in the genetic information.

The genome, carrier of this genetic information, is in most organisms deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), whereas some viruses have a ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome. Part of the genetic information in DNA is transcribed into RNA: either mRNA, which acts as a template for protein synthesis; rRNA, which together with ribosomal proteins constitutes the protein translation machinery; tRNA, which offers the encoded amino acid; or small RNAs, some of which are involved in regulating expression of genes. The genomic DNA also contains elements, such as promotors and enhancers, which orchestrate the proper transcription into RNA. A large part of the genomic DNA of eukaryotes consists of genetic elements such as introns or alu-repeats, the function of which is still not entirely clear.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Phylogenetic Handbook
A Practical Approach to Phylogenetic Analysis and Hypothesis Testing
 , pp. 3 - 30
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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References

Griffiths, A. J. F., Miller, J. H., Suzuki, D. T., Lewontin, R. C., & Gelbart, W. M. (2005). An Introduction to Genetic Analysis. New York, USA: W. H. Freeman.Google Scholar
Hillis, D. M., Moritz, C., & Mable, B. K. (1996). Molecular Systematics. Sunderland, MA, USA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.Google Scholar
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Li, W.-H. & Graur, D. (1991). Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution. Sunderland, MA, USA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.Google Scholar
Nei, M. (1987). Molecular Evolutionary Genetics. New York, USA: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Page, R. D. M. & Homes, E. C. (1998). Molecular Evolution. A Phylogenetic Approach. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science Ltd.Google Scholar

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