Molecular Clock

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Abstract

The molecular clock describes how rates of evolution vary through time. It allows evolutionary and demographic timescales to be estimated using genetic data, making it a valuable tool for understanding biological patterns and processes. Since its origins in the 1960s, the molecular clock has been through considerable evolution. Constant-rate models have been largely superseded by relaxed-clock models that can account for heterogeneity in evolutionary rates. The latest Bayesian methods can simultaneously analyse molecular, morphological, and fossil data. This article provides an overview of the history, application, and development of the molecular clock, and outlines its role in the genomic era.

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Cara Van Der Wal is a marine evolutionary biologist interested in molecular clocks, phylogenetics, computational biology, systematics, and population genetics. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney and the Australian Museum. Prior to commencing her PhD, Cara studied marine biology at the University of Technology Sydney and did research on stomatopod crustaceans at the University of Sydney.

Simon Ho is a Professor of Molecular Evolution at the University of Sydney, where he leds the Molecular Ecology, Evolution, and Phylogenetics research group. He is a computational evolutionary biologist interested in molecular clocks, evolutionary rates, phylogenetic methods, genomic evolution, and ancient DNA. He previously worked at the Australian National University and the University of Oxford, after being awarded his DPhil from the University of Oxford in 2006.

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