Handbook Of Human Molecular Evolution

Description:
'This splendid compendium...will be the standard reference work for years to come: a handbook to browse, to consult, to look things up in, and to read with pleasure, wonder and post-Darwinian exhilaration.' Richard Dawkins 'This is a marvellous book...It should be in every university library - preferably in several copies - and every reader of this journal should add it to their next grant application. It really is that good...I have already found this book to be invaluable...For many years to come, these two volumes will be the starting point for anyone wishing to find out about virtually any subject relating to human genetics...Any scientist working on humans or other animals will find many things in these pages that will stimulate, inform and inspire. The authors, editors and publishers are to be congratulated for their work...order a copy now!' HUMAN GENETICS 'The publishers and editors deserve to be congratulated for publishing this major book which coincides with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. The book is well-timed, with biologists, theologians and sociologists engaged in intense debate on the Darwinian Theory on the origin of species, evolution and natural selection...There is little doubt that this marvellous publication should be in the library of universities and academic institutions dealing with basic and applied biology research and education...It will not be surprising if the individual academic or researcher decides to invest in this resource and enrich their personal collection of leading books in genetics and genomics.' GENOMIC MEDICINE A Unique Collection of High-Quality Articles - Derived from the Acclaimed Encyclopedia of Life Sciences The revolution in human molecular genetics which has taken place over the last three decades has yielded a wealth of information not only on the structure and function of our genes, but also on gene expression, mutation and polymorphic variation. Over the last five years, the focus has moved from genes to genomes. Even though the annotation of our ~30,000 genes is still in progress, genome-wide studies have already yielded abundant evidence for the signatures of past selection and adaptive evolution within human gene sequences. Further, the completion of the sequencing of the 3 billion base-pair human genome, coupled with the increasing availability of other vertebrate genome sequences, has ushered in a new era of comparative genomics. We are now able to identify many of the molecular events (from the chromosomal level down to the single base-pair) that have occurred during vertebrate, mammalian, primate and hominid evolution. Indeed, the detailed comparison of the human and chimpanzee genomes has begun to reveal some of the genetic changes that have been involved in the development of human lineage-specific traits. We are thus acquiring the ability to ask searching questions about our origins, about the demographic processes associated with the global radiation of humankind, as well as some of the unique adaptations that make us human. Evolutionary biology has become so broad that its impact may be felt across the spectrum of the biological sciences. The aim of the Handbook of Human Molecular Evolution is relatively straightforward: to bring together under the same cover the many and varied strands of our knowledge of human/primate/vertebrate molecular evolution. Hence, the 282 chapters that comprise this essential reference work have been thematically arranged into twelve sections, covering the whole scope of research into human molecular evolution: General Concepts in Evolutionary Genetics Mutation, Adaptation and Natural Selection Evolutionary and Population Genetics Human Evolution Human Genome Evolution Evolution of Human Gene Structure and Function Evolution of Gene Expression Mitochondrial Genome Evolution Chromosomal Evolution Comparative Genomics Evolution and Disease Susceptibility Analysis of Ancient DNA This conceptual outline informed the selection of the chapters themselves and the connections between them. Some of these chapters are intended to be introductory, aimed at undergraduates and non-specialists. They provide basic information and a list of recommended further reading to encourage the reader to explore a topic in more depth. This approach helps the student reader progress from textbook material to primary literature. Some chapters are overviews that address topics of broad interest and importance, while others focus on quite specialized topics. These chapters are written for postgraduate students and research workers; they contain more detailed information and key references allowing the reader to investigate a specific area in more depth. This format allows professionals to use the books as a quick reference source. The chapters are richly supplied with website information to allow access to relevant data sources over the internet. The self-contained, peer-reviewed articles in this unique handbook have been written by leading scientists in each field. Key topics include the evolution of enzyme function, the use of nucleic acid divergence as a 'molecular clock', the origin of non-functional or junk DNA, the role of gene duplication in the emergence of novel gene function and the identification of molecular changes responsible for various human characteristics especially those pertaining to infection, cognition, disease and disease susceptibility. The Handbook of Human Molecular Evolution has adopted an integrated approach to the study of human evolution and seeks throughout to emphasize the interplay between molecular genetic concepts and principles on the one hand, and information acquisition and interpretation on the other. In this way, it is hoped that the 'documents of evolutionary history' written into the fabric of our genome, will become accessible to the widest possible audience.

Review:
'This splendid compendium... will be the standard reference work for years to come: a handbook to browse, to consult, to look things up in, and to read with pleasure, wonder and post-Darwinian exhilaration.' (Richard Dawkins) 'This is a marvellous book ... For many years to come, these two volumes will be the starting point for anyone wishing to find out about virtually any subject relating to human genetics.' (Human Genetics) 'The publishers and editors deserve to be congratulated for publishing this major book which coincides with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin.' (Genomic Medicine)

Table of Contents:
General Concepts in Evolutionary Genetics Views of Evolution James F Crow Evolution: Selectionist View Andreas Wagner Evolution: Neutralist View Andreas Wagner The Neo-selectionist Theory of Genome Evolution Giorgio Bernardi Fitness and Selection Brian Charlesworth Genetic Drift in Human Populations Andrew J Bohonak Heterozygosity Wen-Hsiung Li Effective Population Size Michael C Whitlock Population Differentiation: Measures Stefano Mona Giorgio Bertorelle Evolutionary Distance Wen-Hsiung Li Gene Trees and Species Trees Wen-Hsiung Li Homologous, Orthologous and Paralogous Genes Wen-Hsiung Li Evolution: Convergent and Parallel Evolution Caro-Beth Stewart Mutation, Adaptation and Natural Selection Genetic Variation: Polymorphisms and Mutations Alan F Wright Polymorphisms: Origins and Maintenance Kenneth M Weiss Molecular Evolution: Introduction David Penny Molecular Evolution: Overview Jan Klein Molecular Evolution: Genetics of Adaptation Michael Travisano Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution Naoyuki Takahata Molecular Evolution: Nearly Neutral Theory Tomoko Ohta Molecular Evolution: Rates Lindell Bromham Molecular Evolution: Patterns and Rates Lindell Bromham Nucleotide Substitution: Rate of Wen-Hsiung Li Synonymous and Nonsynonymous Rates Soojin Yi Mutational Change in Evolution Dan Graur Mutations and New Variation: Overview Mark O Johnston Single-base Mutation Dan Graur Mutation Rate Bertram Muller-Myhsok Mutation Rates: Evolution David Metzgar Spectrum of Mutations in the Human Genome Inferred by Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Zhao Zhongming Mutational Biases Lev Y Yampolsky Arlin Stoltzfus Mutations: Dating Roberto Colombo Diffusion Theory Gil McVean Molecular Clocks in Mammals Wen-Hsiung Li Kateryna D Makova Molecular Clocks Andrew Peter Martin Purifying Selection: Action on Silent Sites R Nielsen H Akashi Selection against Amino Acid Replacements in Human Proteins Sankar Subramanian Identifying Regions of the Human Genome that Exhibit Evidence for Positive Selection Ryosuke Kimura Jun Ohashi Positive Selection on Genes in Humans as Compared to Chimpanzees Margaret A Bakewell Jianzhi Zhang Selection Operating on Protein-coding Genes in the Human Genome Diogo Meyer Eugene E Harris Selective and Structural Constraints Austin L Hughes Substitution Matrices Stephen F Altschul Fixation Probabilities and Times Sarah P Otto Michael C Whitlock Genetic Code: Evolution Edward N Trifonov Codon Usage in Molecular Evolution Richard L Grantham Linkage Disequilibrium Peter JP Croucher Recombination and Human Genetic Diversity Chris CA Spencer Comparison of Rates and Patterns of Meiotic Recombination between Human and Chimpanzees Jan Freudenberg Rapid Evolution of Genes on the Human X-chromosome Erika M Kvikstad Kateryna D Makova Evolutionary and Population Genetics Gene Flow, Haplotype Patterns and Modern Human Origins Alan R Templeton HapMap Project Bryan J Traynor Andrew Singleton Migration Guido Barbujani Nonrandom Mating Dennis H O'Neil Human Population Stratification and its Assessment by Microarray Genotyping Marc Bauchet Sequence Alignment Julie D Thompson Olivier Poch Sequence Similarity Jaap Heringa Phylogenetics Wen-Hsiung