(Georgia Genetics Review, Vol. 3) 1st Edition
by Rodney Mauricio (Editor)
An enduring controversy in
evolutionary biology is the genetic basis of adaptation. Darwin
emphasized "many slight differences" as the ultimate source of variation
to be acted upon by natural selection. In the early 1900’s, this view
was opposed by "Mendelian geneticists", who emphasized the importance of
"macromutations" in evolution. The Modern Synthesis resolved this
controversy, concluding that mutations in genes of very small effect
were responsible for adaptive evolution.
A decade ago,
Allen Orr and Jerry Coyne reexamined the evidence for this neo-Darwinian
view and found that both the theoretical and empirical basis for it
were weak. Orr and Coyne encouraged evolutionary biologists to reexamine
this neglected question: what is the genetic basis of adaptive
evolution?
In this volume, a new generation of biologists
have taken up this challenge. Using advances in both molecular genetic
and statistical techniques, evolutionary geneticists have made
considerable progress in this emerging field. In this volume, a
diversity of examples from plant and animal studies provides valuable
information for those interested in the genetics and evolution of
complex traits.
