Special Issue "Reticulate Evolution"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Michael L. Arnold
Department of Genetics, Life Sciences Building, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
E-Mail: arnold@plantbio.uga.edu
Phone: +1 706 542 1407
Fax: +1 706 542 3910
Interests: reticulate evolution; web of life; speciation; adaptation

Dear Colleagues,

The only illustration in the Origin of Species presents an evolutionary tree with branches that never reconnect. It is now evident that this view does not encompass the richness of the evolutionary process. Instead, the evolution of species from microbes to mammals is often reticulate, building like a web due to genetic exchange events. Some of the avenues for reticulate evolution, for example sexual recombination versus lateral gene transfer, result from different molecular mechanisms. However, even such widely different genetic processes may result in similar effects on the evolutionary/ecological trajectory of organisms. Given the widespread occurrence and thus importance of reticulate evolution, the journal Genes will publish a Special Issue devoted to this topic. Reviews and original papers are welcome. Topics that touch upon the role of reticulate evolution in any organismic group are appropriate for this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Michael L. Arnold
Guest Editor

Submission Information

All manuscripts should be submitted to genes@mdpi.com with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genes is an international peer-reviewed Open Access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. For the first couple of issues, to be published in 2010, the Article Processing Charges (APC) will be waived for well-prepared manuscripts. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

• reticulate evolution
• hybridization
• introgression
• horizontal transfer
• hybrid speciation
• adaptive trait transfer