Molecular clock  

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The molecular clock (based on the molecular clock hypothesis (MCH)) is a technique in molecular evolution that uses fossil constraints and rates of molecular change to deduce the time in geologic history when two species or other taxa diverged. It is used to estimate the time of occurrence of events called speciation or radiation. The molecular data used for such calculations is usually nucleotide sequences for DNA or amino acid sequences for proteins. It is sometimes called a gene clock or evolutionary clock.

See also

• Human mitochondrial molecular clock
• Gene orders
• Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam
• Neutral theory of molecular evolution