ABSTRACT
Motoo Kimura was a theoretical evolutionary biologist who was best known for proposing the neutral theory of molecular evolution. In 1949, Kimura joined the National Institute of Genetics in Mishima, Shizuoka-ken. In 1953, he published his first population genetics paper, describing a “stepping stone” model for population structure that could treat more complex patterns of immigration than Sewall Wright’s earlier “island model.” Kimura worked on a wide range of theoretical population genetics problem s, occasionally in collaboration with Takeo Maruyama. According to the neutral theory of molecular evolution, the amount of genetic variation within a species should be proportional to the effective population size. While high levels of genetic diversity were one of the original arguments in favor of neutral theory, the paradox of variation has been one of the strongest arguments against neutral theory. The neutral theory was immediately controversial, receiving support from many molecular biologists and attracting opposition from many evolutionary biologists.
