Molecular Systematics

Molecular systematic methods have been applied in most fields of biology to provide an evolutionary framework whenever comparisons are made among individuals, populations, or higher taxa. The first edition of Molecular Systematics became a standard reference for this vigorous field by describing each aspect of the planning, execution, and analysis of a molecular systematic study. The Second Edition updates and expands this coverage, and includes considerable information on new molecular techniques and methods of analysis. Molecular Systematics includes chapters on sampling design, the collection and storage of tissues, each of the major molecular techniques, and intraspecific and phylogenetic analysis. The sampling chapters describe how to plan a study and how to collect, transport, and store the appropriate tissues for each study. The techniques chapters cover principles, assumptions, applications, limitations, and protocols for isozyme electrophoresis, molecular cytogenetics, DNA hybridization, the polymerase chain reaction, restriction site and fragment analysis, and nucleic acid sequencing and alignment. Advantages and disadvantages of alternative approaches are discussed for each technique, and recent developments (such as new methods of fluorescent in situ hybridization, rapid screening methods for detecting DNA sequence variation, automated sequencing methods, new approaches for PCR, and microsatellite analyses) are detailed. Three additional chapters cover the rationale and methodology of molecular data analysis at both the population and interspecific levels, and provide information on using and obtaining the relevant computer programs (including the many programs available for free across the Internet). The chapter on phylogenetic analysis has been considerably expanded to include the latest developments in maximum likelihood analysis, spectral analysis, methods for reconstructing reticulating networks, corrections for complex models of sequence evolution, and methods for assessing confidence in phylogenetic results. The book also includes discussion of processes of molecular evolution, experimental molecular studies, molecular simulations, the molecular meaning of homology, and limitations and applications of the molecular clock hypothesis. Molecular Systematics provides new insights and is an important reference work for established investigators, as well as a comprehensive introduction for newcomers to the field.

Like its predecessor, the Second Edition of Molecular Systematics is an impressive compilation of theory, methods, and review of the field of molecular systematics as it exists at the time of publication. ... The coverage is phenomenal, ranging from explicit protocols for experimental methods and the details of equipment needed to conduct research in the field to the conceptual underpinnings of the data analysis. ... I'm sure that this volume will become the standard reference in the field of molecular systematics, as the first edition has been ... . --Richard G. Olmstead, Systematic Biology