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Encyclopedia of Scientific Dating Methods pp 1–4Cite as

Molecular Dating of Evolutionary Events

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Definition

Inference of the age of evolutionary events using statistical analysis of rates of change of DNA or amino acid sequences.

Introduction

Molecular dating is used in the biological sciences to estimate the age of evolutionary events. Changes to DNA and amino acid sequences accumulate continuously in the genome over time, so comparing DNA sequences between lineages allows us to estimate the time since they last shared a common ancestor. However, the rate of change varies across the genome and among species. So in order to use molecular data to date evolutionary events, we need a way of estimating the rate of change in genetic sequences over time for any given dataset. Molecular dating requires a set of homologous genetic sequences (all related by descent from a single ancestral sequence), a method for inferring the number of changes that have occurred during the evolution of these sequences, and calibrating information to estimate their rate of change.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Macroevolution and Macroecology, Division of Evolution, Ecology, and Genetics, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Building 116, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    Dr. David Duchene & Dr. Lindell Bromham

Authors
  1. Dr. David Duchene
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  2. Dr. Lindell Bromham
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Duchene .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    W. Jack Rink

  2. Department of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Jeroen Thompson

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Duchene, D., Bromham, L. (2013). Molecular Dating of Evolutionary Events. In: Rink, W., Thompson, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Scientific Dating Methods. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6326-5_18-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6326-5_18-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6326-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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