Evolution of dominance
Encyclopedia
The evolution of dominance concerns the evolution
of genetic dominance. The central argument, that modifier gene
s act upon other genes to make them dominant or recessive, and that these are then themselves subject to natural selection
was first proposed by the British population geneticist Ronald Fisher
in 1928, and expanded upon in his book The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection
. However, Sewall Wright
and J.B.S. Haldane believed that the main explanation for dominance should be based on physiological factors, and that selection for modifiers was not a primary force. This led to a major fallout between Fisher and Wright. Subsequent works, particularly in molecular biology
and biochemistry
, have tended to favour Wright's view without completely excluding that the Fisherian argument may, in some circumstances, apply.
For reviews see
.
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
of genetic dominance. The central argument, that modifier gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
s act upon other genes to make them dominant or recessive, and that these are then themselves subject to natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
was first proposed by the British population geneticist Ronald Fisher
Ronald Fisher
Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher FRS was an English statistician, evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and geneticist. Among other things, Fisher is well known for his contributions to statistics by creating Fisher's exact test and Fisher's equation...
in 1928, and expanded upon in his book The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection
The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection
The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection is a book by R.A. Fisher first published in 1930 by Clarendon. It is one of the most important books of the modern evolutionary synthesis and is commonly cited in biology books.-Editions:...
. However, Sewall Wright
Sewall Wright
Sewall Green Wright was an American geneticist known for his influential work on evolutionary theory and also for his work on path analysis. With R. A. Fisher and J.B.S. Haldane, he was a founder of theoretical population genetics. He is the discoverer of the inbreeding coefficient and of...
and J.B.S. Haldane believed that the main explanation for dominance should be based on physiological factors, and that selection for modifiers was not a primary force. This led to a major fallout between Fisher and Wright. Subsequent works, particularly in molecular biology
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
and biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
, have tended to favour Wright's view without completely excluding that the Fisherian argument may, in some circumstances, apply.
For reviews see
.