Genome evolution is the study of how the structure, size, content, and organization of an organism's genetic material change over time within and between lineages. It encompasses the molecular processes that generate variation, including point mutation, insertion and deletion, recombination, gene duplication and los…
Genome evolution is the study of how the structure, size, content, and organization of an organism's genetic material change over time within and between lineages. It encompasses the molecular processes that generate variation, including point mutation, insertion and deletion, recombination, gene duplication and loss, horizontal gene transfer, transposable-element activity, and large-scale chromosomal rearrangement, together with the evolutionary forces of selection, drift, and mutation that shape how such changes are retained or eliminated. These processes drive the origin of new genes and functions, the divergence of populations, and ultimately speciation, while also influencing genome architecture across the tree of life. Research relevant to this topic includes analyses of speciation and the proposed role of ontogenes, comparative examination of primate chromosomes such as human and primate chromosome 4, the identification of eukaryotic signature proteins that mark deep evolutionary transitions, and microbial and yeast systems that illuminate genome adaptation and biotechnological potential. Comparative and population genomic approaches reconstruct evolutionary history by aligning sequences, dating divergence, and inferring the mechanisms underlying genomic change. Understanding genome evolution clarifies how organisms adapt to changing environments, how genetic novelty arises, and how evolutionary insight informs fields ranging from systematics and molecular biology to medicine and biotechnology.
6 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 6 articles above have been cited 29 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Genome Evolution, linking to each citing work.