Editing Molecular evolution (section)

{{Short description|Process of change in the sequence composition of cellular molecules across generations}}
{{Evolutionary biology}}
'''Molecular evolution''' describes how [[Heredity|inherited]] [[DNA]] and/or [[RNA]] change over [[evolution]]ary time, and the consequences of this for [[protein]]s and other components of [[Cell (biology)|cells]] and [[organism]]s. Molecular evolution is the basis of [[phylogenetics|phylogenetic]] approaches to describing the [[Tree of life (biology)|tree of life]]. Molecular evolution overlaps with [[population genetics]], especially on shorter timescales. Topics in molecular evolution include the origins of new genes, the genetic nature of [[complex traits]], the genetic basis of [[adaptation]] and [[speciation]], the [[Evolutionary developmental biology|evolution of development]], and patterns and processes underlying [[genome|genomic]] changes during evolution.