Tomoko Ohta

Professor Emeritus, National Institute of Genetics Research focuses on mechanism of molecular evolution. She is the main advocate of the nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution, in which the borderline mutations between the neutral and the selected classes are important at the molecular level. The theory has been useful for interpreting data on molecular evolution and polymorphism. She also contributed to clarifying the evolutionary implications of gene duplication and conversion, by developing theoretical models based on population genetics. The nearly neutral theory has been connected to the dynamic processes of protein folding and function. Also the theory has been suggested to link molecular changes to phenotypic evolution.