Structural and Evolutionary Genetics: Natural Selection in Genome Evolution (New Comprehensive Biochemistry) - Hardcover

Bernardi, G.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0444512551 ISBN 13: 9780444512550

Publisher: Elsevier Science Ltd, 2004

Synopsis

Structural genomics is the study of the DNA of living organisms. Evolutionary genomics is the study of the history of the genome. These subjects are closely interlinked. They are approached in this book using as a guideline the investigations carried out in the author's laboratory, relevant literature is critically reviewed and some general conclusions are presented. The author and his collaborators have studied a vast number of genomes, ranging from prokaryotes to human, using different approaches, including physical chemistry of DNA, viral integration and molecular cytogenetics. As the subtitle indicates the book discusses the fundamental importance of natural selection in shaping genomes. In terms of numbers, neutral and nearly neutral mutations represent most mutations, but a regional control is exerted by natural selection (essentially negative or purifying selection). A neo-selectionist model is proposed for genome evolution.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Structural and evolutionary genomics are the study of the organization and evolutionary
history of the genomes of living organisms. Since the genomes are the outcome of billions
years of evolution, it is not surprising that the problems are complex. The book by Giorgio
Bernardi is the result of a lifetime’s work on these problems. These investigations led to the
discovery comprehensive rules about genome organization. Moreover, a breakthrough has
been reached, by showing that natural selection acts not only on the “classical phenotype? of
form and function (or, in molecular terms, of the proteins and their expression), as generally
accepted, but also on the “genome phenotype?, the compositional properties of the genome
and all their functional implication. This conclusion resolves Kimura’s dilemma of natural
selection acting on the classical phenotype while neutral mutations represent the majority of
changes at the molecular level. Indeed, in the “neo-selectionist? model proposed by the
author, most mutations are neutral or nearly neutral, but natural selection controls the
compositional patterns of the genome|Structural and evolutionary genomics are the study of the organization and evolutionary
history of the genomes of living organisms. Since the genomes are the outcome of billions
years of evolution, it is not surprising that the problems are complex. The book by Giorgio
Bernardi is the result of a lifetime’s work on these problems. These investigations led to the
discovery comprehensive rules about genome organization. Moreover, a breakthrough has
been reached, by showing that natural selection acts not only on the “classical phenotype of
form and function (or, in molecular terms, of the proteins and their expression), as generally
accepted, but also on the “genome phenotype, the compositional properties of the genome
and all their functional implication. This conclusion resolves Kimura’s dilemma of natural
selection acting on the classical phenotype while neutral mutations represent the majority of
changes at the molecular level. Indeed, in the “neo-selectionist model proposed by the
author, most mutations are neutral or nearly neutral, but natural selection controls the
compositional patterns of the genome

Edition details

• Publisher: Elsevier Science Ltd
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0444512551
• ISBN 13: 9780444512550
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 342