http://precedings.nature.com/tags/maximum%20genetic%20diversity%20hypothesis Recently posted documents tagged with 'maximum genetic diversity hypothesis' Nature Publishing Group en Nature Precedings http://precedings.nature.com/images/header_logo.gif http://precedings.nature.com http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npre.2009.1751.2 Early studies of molecular evolution revealed a correlation between genetic distance and time of species divergence. This observation provoked the molecular clock hypothesis and in turn the ‘Neutral Theory’, which however remains an incomplete explanation since it predicts a constant mutation rate per generation whereas empirical evidence suggests a constant rate per year. Data inconsistent with the molecular clock hypothesis have steadily accumulated in recent years that show no correlation between genetic distance and time of divergence. It has therefore become a challenge to find a testable idea that can reconcile the seemingly conflicting data sets. Here, an inverse relationship between genetic diversity and epigenetic complexity was deduced from a simple intuition in building complex systems. Genetic diversity, i.e., genetic distance or dissimilarity in DNA or protein sequences between individuals or species, is restricted by the complexity of epigenetic programs. This inverse relationship logically deduces the maximum genetic diversity (MGD) hypothesis, which suggests that macroevolution from simple to complex organisms involves a punctuational increase in epigenetic complexity that in turn causes a punctuational loss in genetic diversity. The hypothesis fully grants Neo-Darwinism to be what it really is (a theory of microevolution) and explains all the major facts of evolution. Importantly, it predicts the most remarkable result of molecular evolution, the genetic equidistance result, which originally provoked the molecular clock hypothesis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npre.2009.1751.2 Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:25:06 UTC Inverse relationship between genetic diversity and epigenetic complexity doi:10.1038/npre.2009.1751.2 2009-01-15 Shi Huang Nature Precedings 2009-01-15T15:25:06Z Manuscript Genetics & Genomics Bioinformatics Evolutionary Biology http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ http://precedings.nature.com/documents/1751/version/1 Early studies of molecular evolution revealed a correlation between genetic distance and time of species divergence. This observation provoked the molecular clock hypothesis and in turn the ‘Neutral Theory’, which however remains an incomplete explanation since it predicts a constant mutation rate per generation whereas empirical evidence suggests a constant rate per year. Data inconsistent with the molecular clock hypothesis have steadily accumulated in recent years that show no correlation between genetic distance and time of divergence. It has therefore become a challenge to find a testable idea that can reconcile the seemingly conflicting data sets. Here, an inverse relationship between genetic diversity and epigenetic complexity was deduced from a simple intuition in building complex systems. Genetic diversity, i.e., genetic distance or dissimilarity in DNA or protein sequences between individuals or species, is restricted by the complexity of epigenetic programs. This inverse relationship logically deduces the maximum genetic diversity hypothesis, which suggests that macroevolution from simple to complex organisms involves a punctuational increase in epigenetic complexity that in turn causes a punctuational loss in genetic diversity. The hypothesis explains a diverse set of biological phenomena, including both for and against the correlation between genetic distance and time of divergence. http://precedings.nature.com/documents/1751/version/1 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:10:20 UTC Inverse relationship between genetic diversity and epigenetic complexity hdl:10101/npre.2008.1751.1 2008-04-02 Shi Huang Nature Precedings 2008-04-02T13:10:20Z Manuscript Ecology Genetics & Genomics Bioinformatics http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/