At molecular level, evolutionary change is unpredictable
Gillian Klucas, University Of Nebraska-Lincoln
The team’s findings appear in the Oct. 21 issue of the journal Science. There’s this really long-standing question in evolutionary genetics about the predictability of genetic change, said Storz, Susan J. Rosowski professor of biological sciences. In other words, did species with a common, beneficial trait undergo the same genetic changes to evolve that trait? Storz and his team tested the hemoglobin proteins from numerous high-altitude bird species and identified which differences, or mutations, in the proteins’ makeup were responsible for the high-altitude trait. As evolution advances through time, different mutations accumulate in distinct species and settings.