Neutral theory of molecular evolution

Definition

The neutral theory of molecular evolution holds that most evolutionary changes occur at the molecular level, and most of the variation within and between species are due to random genetic drift of mutant alleles that are selectively neutral. The theory applies only for evolution at the molecular level, and is compatible with phenotypic evolution being shaped by natural selection as postulated by Charles Darwin.

Related concepts

Abiogenesis Adaptation Adaptive evolution in the human genome Adaptive radiation Alanine Allele Allopatric speciation Alternatives to Darwinian evolution Altruism (biology)Amino acid Anagenesis Ancestral sequence reconstruction Anisogamy Antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis Astrobiology Balancing selection Balding–Nichols model Baldwin effect Biodiversity Biogeography Biological life cycle Biological process Blending inheritance Canalisation (genetics)Canidae Cat gap Catagenesis (biology)Catastrophism Cell nucleus Charles Darwin Cheating (biology)Chromosome Cladistics Cladogenesis Coalescent theory Codon Codon degeneracy Coefficient of inbreeding Coefficient of relationship Coevolution Common descent Constructive neutral evolution Convergent evolution Cooperation (evolution)Cospeciation Cultural evolution Cultural group selection Darwinism David Hume Death Deep time Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Dinosaur Divergent evolution Domestication of the dog Dual inheritance theory Earliest known life forms Ecological genetics Ecological selection Ecological speciation Effective population size Emile Zuckerkandl Empathy Endomembrane system Eukaryote Evidence of common descent Evolution Evolution of Macropodidae Evolution of ageing Evolution of bacteria Evolution of biological complexity Evolution of birds Evolution of brachiopods Evolution of butterflies Evolution of cells Evolution of cephalopods Evolution of cetaceans Evolution of color vision Evolution of color vision in primates Evolution of emotion Evolution of eusociality Evolution of fish Evolution of flagella Evolution of fungi Evolution of insects Evolution of lemurs Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles Evolution of mammals Evolution of molluscs Evolution of morality Evolution of nervous systems Evolution of primates Evolution of reptiles Evolution of sexual reproduction Evolution of sirenians Evolution of snake venom Evolution of spiders Evolution of tetrapods Evolution of the brain Evolution of the eye Evolution of the horse Evolution of the wolf Evolutionarily stable strategy Evolutionary Evolutionary arms race Evolutionary biology Evolutionary developmental biology Evolutionary ethics Evolutionary game theory Evolutionary history of plants Evolutionary ideas of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment Evolutionary invasion analysis Evolutionary medicine Evolutionary mismatch Evolutionary pressure Evolutionary taxonomy Evolutionary tradeoff Exaptation Extended evolutionary synthesis Extinction Extinction event Fibrinopeptide Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection Fisher's principle Fitness (biology)Fitness landscape Fixation (population genetics)Founder effect Gamete Gene Gene-centered view of evolution Gene flow Gene frequencies Gene polymorphism Genetic assimilation Genetic drift Genetic genealogy Genetic hitchhiking Genetic linkage Genetic load Genetic polymorphism Genetic variation Group selection Hair Haldane's dilemma Handicap principle Hardy–Weinberg principle Hemoglobin Hemoglobin subunit alpha Hemoglobin subunit beta Heritability History of evolutionary thought History of life History of molecular evolution History of paleontology Hologenome theory of evolution Homology (biology)Human evolution Hybrid (biology)Hybrid speciation Hyena Identity by descent Immune system Inbreeding avoidance Inclusive fitness Index of evolutionary biology articles Infinite sites model Introduction to evolution Inversion (evolutionary biology)J. B. S. Haldane Jack Lester King Kin recognition Kin selection Lamarckism Landscape genetics Landscape genomics Last universal common ancestor Lineage (genetic)Linkage disequilibrium Linus Pauling Macroevolution Masatoshi Nei Mate choice Mating type McDonald-Kreitman test McDonald–Kreitman test Mendelian inheritance Metabolism Microevolution Missing heritability problem Mitochondrion Models of DNA evolution Modern synthesis (20th century)Modularity (biology)Molecular Biology and Evolution Molecular biology Molecular clock Molecular evolution Molecular mass Monogamy in animals Mosaic evolution Motoo Kimura Multicellular organism Mutant allele Mutation Mutationism Mutualism (biology)Natural selection Nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution Negative selection (natural selection)Neo-Darwinism Neutral mutation Nonadaptive radiation Nonecological speciation Nucleotide Null hypothesis On the Origin of Species Organ (biology)Origin and function of meiosis Origin of avian flight Origin of birds Orthogenesis Outline of evolution Panspermia Parallel evolution Parapatric speciation Parental investment Parent–offspring conflict Peripatric speciation Phenotype Phenotypic plasticity Phyletic gradualism Phylogenetic tree Phylogenetics Phylogeography Plastid Pleiotropy Point mutation Pollinator-mediated selection Polymorphism (biology)Population (biology)Population bottleneck Population dynamics Population genetics Population genomics Population structure (genetics)Price equation Programmed cell death Proinsulin Proportionality (mathematics)Protein Protein subunit Protocell Punctuated equilibrium Purifying selection Quantitative genetics R.A. Fisher Reciprocal altruism Red Queen hypothesis Reinforcement (speciation)Richard Lewontin Ronald Fisher Saltation (biology)Scientific American Selection coefficient Selective breeding Selective sweep Sewall Wright Sex-determination system Sexual dimorphism Sexual selection Sexual selection in flowering plants Sexual selection in fungi Shifting balance theory Signalling theory Small population size Social selection Spandrel (biology)Speciation Species Species complex Structuralism (biology)Symbiogenesis Sympatric speciation Synonymous substitution Systematics Taxon Teleology in biology Teleonomy Tempo and Mode in Evolution The Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution The eclipse of Darwinism Theistic evolution Thomas H. Jukes Timeline of the evolutionary history of life Tomoko Ohta Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance Transitional fossil Transmutation of species Trivers–Willard hypothesis Unified neutral theory of biodiversity Uniformitarianism Unit of selection Vicar of Bray (scientific hypothesis)Viral evolution Vitalism

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