What was started by Motoo Kimura in 1968?
the neutral theory of molecular evolution
1968 marked a turning point in Kimura’s career. In that year he introduced the neutral theory of molecular evolution, the idea that, at the molecular level, the large majority of genetic change is neutral with respect to natural selection—making genetic drift a primary factor in evolution.
What is Kimura neutral theory and how is it relevant for phylogenetic study?
The neutral theory of molecular evolution by Kimura in 1968 states that most evolutionary changes at the molecular level are caused by random genetic drift of selectively neutral nucleotide substitutions. Due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, some point mutations are silent with no amino acid replacements.
Why is neutral theory wrong?
One of the original shortcomings was that neutral theory could not explain the varying patterns of genome evolution observed among species with different population sizes. For instance, species with smaller population sizes have on average more mutations that are deleterious.
Who came up with neutral theory of molecular evolution?
Abstract Motoo Kimura
Abstract. Motoo Kimura (1924–94) was a pioneer population geneticist in Japan, who studied evolutionary processes at the molecular level. He is most known as an advocate of the neutral theory of molecular evolution having published this idea in Nature in 1968.
What is the significance of the FOXP2 gene?
The FOXP2 gene provides instructions for making a protein called forkhead box P2. This protein is a transcription factor, which means that it controls the activity of other genes. It attaches (binds) to the DNA of these genes through a region known as a forkhead domain.
What is hitchhiking in biology?
Genetic hitchhiking, also called genetic draft or the hitchhiking effect, is when an allele changes frequency not because it itself is under natural selection, but because it is near another gene that is undergoing a selective sweep and that is on the same DNA chain.
What does the neutral theory propose?
The neutral theory holds that most variation at the molecular level does not affect fitness and, therefore, the evolutionary fate of genetic variation is best explained by stochastic processes.
How do neutral mutation affect evolution?
In population genetics, mutations in which natural selection does not affect the spread of the mutation in a species are termed neutral mutations. Neutral mutations that are inheritable and not linked to any genes under selection will either be lost or will replace all other alleles of the gene.
What genes does FOXP2 regulate?
FOXP2 is known to regulate CNTNAP2, CTBP1, SRPX2 and SCN3A. FOXP2 downregulates CNTNAP2, a member of the neurexin family found in neurons. CNTNAP2 is associated with common forms of language impairment. FOXP2 also downregulates SRPX2, the ‘Sushi Repeat-containing Protein X-linked 2’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=499IoQUopX8