Motoo Kimura (木村資生, born on November 13, 1924 in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture - November 13, 1994) was a highly influential Japanesemathematical biologist, working in the field of theoretical population genetics. He is famous for his innovative use of diffusion equations to calculate the probability of fixation and time to fixation of beneficial, deleterious, or neutral alleles. Kimura is also the father of the neutral theory of molecular evolution. November 13 is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 48 days remaining. ... 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Okazaki (岡崎市; -shi) is a city located in the Mikawa region of Aichi, Japan. ... Aichi Prefecture (愛知県 Aichi-ken) is located in the Chubu region of Japan. ... November 13 is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 48 days remaining. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Mathematical biology or biomathematics is an interdisciplinary field of academic study which aims at modelling natural, biological processes using mathematical techniques and tools. ... Population genetics is the study of the distribution of and change in allele frequencies under the influence of the five evolutionary forces: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, migration and nonrandom mating. ... The heat equation or diffusion equation is an important partial differential equation which describes the variation of temperature in a given region over time. ... An allele is any one of a number of alternative forms of the same gene (sometimes the term refers to a non-gene sequence) occupying a given locus (position) on a chromosome. ... The neutral theory of molecular evolution (also, simply the neutral theory of evolution) is an influential theory that was introduced with provocative effect by Motoo Kimura in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...
While Kimura did a great deal of important theoretical and experimental work in the 1970s and 1980s (much of it in collaboration with Tomoko Ohta), he is most remembered for his tireless and dogmatic championing of the neutral theory.
Kimura, "On the probability of fixation of mutant genes in a population," Genetics (1962), 47: 713-19.
Kimura and T. Ohta, "The average number of generations until fixation of a mutant gene in a finite population," Genetics (1969), 61: 763-71.
The neutral theory of molecular evolution (also, simply the neutral theory of evolution) is an influential theory that was introduced with provocative effect by MotooKimura[?] in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
According to Kimura, when one compares the genomes of existing species, or looks between a species and its forebears, the vast majority of single-nucleotide differences are selectively "neutral." That is, these differences do not influence the fitness of either the species or the individuals who make up the species.
Many molecular biologists and population geneticists, besides Kimura, contributed to the development of the neutral theory, which may be viewed as an offshoot of the modern synthesis.
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