The neutral theory of molecular evolution states that the vast majority of evolutionary changes at the molecular level are caused by random drift of selectively neutral mutants (not affecting fitness). The theory was introduced by Motoo Kimura in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Neutral theory is compatible with Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection: adaptive changes are acknowledged as present and important, but hypothesized to be a small minority of all the changes seen fixed in DNA sequences. Since then, this hypothesis has been tested using the McDonald-Kreitman test, and has not been supported in all species. Even in those species in which adaptive changes are rare, background selection at linked sites may violate neutral theory's assumptions regarding genetic drift.
Read more about Neutral Theory Of Molecular Evolution: Overview, The "neutralist–selectionist" Debate
Famous quotes containing the words neutral, theory and/or evolution:
“I feel the carousel starting slowly
And going faster and faster: desk, papers, books,
Photographs of friends, the window and the trees
Merging in one neutral band that surrounds
Me on all sides, everywhere I look.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that point of view.”
—Thomas Nagel (b. 1938)
“Like Freud, Jung believes that the human mind contains archaic remnants, residues of the long history and evolution of mankind. In the unconscious, primordial “universally human images” lie dormant. Those primordial images are the most ancient, universal and “deep” thoughts of mankind. Since they embody feelings as much as thought, they are properly “thought feelings.” Where Freud postulates a mass psyche, Jung postulates a collective psyche.”
—Patrick Mullahy (b. 1912)