Aims and scope

Journal of Molecular Evolution covers experimental, computational, and theoretical work aimed at deciphering features of molecular evolution and the processes bearing on these features, from the initial formation of macromolecular systems through their evolution at the molecular level, the co-evolution of their functions in cellular and organismal systems, and their influence on organismal adaptation, speciation, and ecology. Topics addressed include the evolution of informational macromolecules and their relation to more complex levels of biological organization, including populations and taxa, as well as the molecular basis for the evolution of ecological interactions of species and the use of molecular data to infer fundamental processes in evolutionary ecology. This coverage accommodates such subfields as new genome sequences, comparative structural and functional genomics, population genetics, the molecular evolution of development, the evolution of gene regulation and gene interaction networks, and in vitro evolution of DNA and RNA, molecular evolutionary ecology, and the development of methods and theory that enable molecular evolutionary inference, including but not limited to, phylogenetic methods.

Journal of Molecular Evolution is currently soliciting mini-reviews of 2000-3000 words and 1-3 Figures. Established scientists working in the field of molecular evolution should write short proposals of 300 words or less, explaining their putative mini-review, and send it to both Senior Editor Aaron Goldman (Aaron.Goldman@oberlin.edu) and Editor-in-Chief David Liberles (jme1@temple.edu). Upon receipt of these proposals, a decision will be made about encouraging formal submission of the mini-review.