Searching for the basis of evolutionary adaptation

Systematic studies to detect the molecular basis of evolutionary adaptations have only recently become possible. Scientists at the MPI for Evolutionary Biology focus on natural populations of the house mouse (Mus musculus). This involves genome based searches for signatures of recent adaptations. The first results indicate that such signatures occur much more often than it was considered possible so far. This opens up the option to devise experiments that will eventually allow to study the evolution of mouse populations in real time.