Genome Evolution
Genomic evolution is the process that changes the structure (sequence) or size of a genome over time.
The study of genome evolution involves multiple fields such as structural analysis of the genome, the study of genomic parasites, gene and ancient genome duplications, polyploidy, and comparative genomics. Evolutionary biologists are interested in five specific questions in regards to evolution of the genome, these are:
- How did the genome evolve into its current size?
- What is the content within the genome, is it mostly junk or not?
- What is the distribution of genes within a genome?
- What is the composition of the nucleotides within the genome?
- How does translation of the genetic code evolve?
Read more about this topic: Molecular Evolution
Famous quotes containing the word evolution:
“By contrast with history, evolution is an unconscious process. Another, and perhaps a better way of putting it would be to say that evolution is a natural process, history a human one.... Insofar as we treat man as a part of nature—for instance in a biological survey of evolution—we are precisely not treating him as a historical being. As a historically developing being, he is set over against nature, both as a knower and as a doer.”
—Owen Barfield (b. 1898)