Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 2001. 32:183–217 Copyright c  2001 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved APPLIED EVOLUTION J. J. Bull 1 and H. A. Wichman 2 1 Section of Integrative Biology, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712-1023; e-mail: bull@bull.biosci.utexas.edu 2 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-3051; e-mail: hwichman@uidaho.edu Key Words artificial selection, directed evolution, phylogenetics, resistance, evolutionary computation ■ Abstract Evolutionary biology is widely perceived as a discipline with relevance that lies purely in academia. Until recently, that perception was largely true, except for the often neglected role of evolutionary biology in the improvement of agricul- tural crops and animals. In the past two decades, however, evolutionary biology has assumed a broad relevance extending far outside its original bounds. Phylogenetics, the study of Darwin’s theory of “descent with modification,” is now the foundation of disease tracking and of the identification of species in medical, pharmacological, or conservation settings. It further underlies bioinformatics approaches to the analysis of genomes. Darwin’s “evolution by natural selection” is being used in many contexts, from the design of biotechnology protocols to create new drugs and industrial enzymes, to the avoidance of resistant pests and microbes, to the development of new computer technologies. These examples present opportunities for education of the public and for nontraditional career paths in evolutionary biology. They also provide new research material for people trained in classical approaches. OVERVIEW Evolutionary biology has undergone an expansion and transformation in the past few decades. Despite occasional claims to the contrary, the big changes in evolu- tionary biology have come from improvements in understanding mechanisms that are fully compatible with Darwinism; descent with modification and natural selec- tion are still the conceptual foundations of the discipline. For example, a veritable explosion of studies estimating the relationships among different species has re- fined our understanding of evolutionary history, but the modern version of the tree of life has many similarities to old ones and certainly supports a Darwinian model. The sequencing of genes and genomes has yielded insights into genetic mech- anisms underlying evolution, and we are even progressing toward a genetic un- derstanding of the major developmental and morphological transitions—advances that augment earlier ideas about these transitions. Theories based on natural selec- tion have led to revolutions in understanding behavior, parasitism, and a wealth of 0066-4162/01/1215-0183$14.00 183 Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 2001.32:183-217. Downloaded from arjournals.annualreviews.org by UNIVERSIDAD DE PUERTO RIC on 03/18/05. For personal use only.