GalaxyUnderstanding Evolution through Genome Biology
"Contrary to common belief, evolution is not driven by natural selection alone. Many aspects of evolutionary change are indeed facilitated by natural selection, but all populations are influenced by the nonadaptive forces of mutation, recombination, and random genetic drift. These additional forces are not simple embellishments around a primary axis of selection, but are quite the opposite - they dictate what natural selection can and cannot do. ... This blind acceptance of natural selection as the only force relevant to evolution has led to a lot of sloppy thinking, and is probably the primary reason why evolution is viewed as a soft science by much of society."
an excerpt from The Origins of Genome Architecture by Michael Lynch.
99% of selection is negative: Genome function can only be understood through comparison
One genome is not enough to understand function. Become most functional elements (such as genes) are preserved by purifying selection they are readily identifiable by comparison. To compare genomes scientists generate alignments. Look at the picture below:
Here peaks represent conserved elements (regions of the genome that did not change during evolution). They correspond almost exactly to genes (blue and red blocks).
Morphologically distinct organisms have similar genomes: A movie
In this example we will see that very different organisms are in fact very similar when looked at on the genomic level.
First, we will go through an explanation of eye development and evolution.
Now let take a look at the genomic structure of Pax loci using Genome Browser and Galaxy in vertebrates as shown in this movie.
