Walter Fitch (1929-)
is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology at University of California, Irvine, were he served
as Chairman of the department from 1990-1995. He received
his Ph.D. in comparative biochemistry from the University
of California, Berkeley in 1958. Before moving to Irvine,
he was a professor at the University of Wisconsin from 1962-1968,
as well as UCLA from 1986-1989. Fitch was instrumental in
the founding of the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution
as well as its governing board, the Society for the Study
for Molecular Biology and Evolution, in 1982. In 1992, after
proposing that membership in the society be extended to all
subscribers of the journal, he became its first President.
For most of the past 35 years, he has been developing and
improving methods to collect molecular sequence data from
a wide variety of species and then infer evolutionary relationships
and ancestral sequences from them. Fitch gained fame in the
1960s and 1970s for his efforts to locate molecular homology
and to develop evolutionary trees based solely on molecular
data. Two of his papers from this period have been designated
"Citation Classics." His current research focuses
on how to determine the value of a given nucleotide position
in reconstructing phylogenies, especially in situations where
the site may vary widely in some taxa, but not in others.
Additionally, he has published several articles on the evolution
of HIV and the influenza virus.
Fitch is the author of over 200 publications, many of which
have been highly influential in the field of molecular evolution.
Along with Francisco Ayala and others, he has organized several
National Academy of Sciences colloquia (and edited the resulting
books) that seek to document the development of evolutionary
biology in the half-century after the neo-Darwinan "evolutionary
synthesis." These include: Tempo and Mode in Evolution:
Genetics and Paleontology 50 years After Simpson (1995) and
Variation and Evolution in Plants and Microorganisms: Toward
a New Synthesis 50 Years After Stebbins (2000). He is a member
of numerous organizations including the American Philosophical
Society, the NAS, and the Human Genome Organization. In May
2001, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from North Carolina
State University.
Selected Bibliography:
- Fitch, Walter M., "Improved Method
for Testing for Evolutionary Homology," J. Mol.
Biol. 16, 9-16 (1966).
- Fitch, Walter M. and Margoliash, E., "The
Construction of Phylogenetic Trees-- A Generally Applicable
Method Utilizing Estimates of the Mutation Distance Obtained
from Cytochrome c Sequences," Science l55, 279-284
(l967).
- Fitch, Walter M. and Margoliash, E., "A
Method for Estimating the Number of Invariant Amino Acid
Coding Positions in a Gene Using Cytochrome c as a Model
Case," Biochem. Gen. l, 65-7l (l967).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Evidence Suggesting
a Non-Random Character to Nucleotide Replacements in Naturally
Occurring Mutations," J. Mol. Biol. 26, 499-507
(l967).
- Margoliash, E. and Fitch, Walter M., "Evolutionary
Variability of Cytochrome c Primary Structures,"
N. Y. Acad. Sci. 151, 359-38l (l968).
- Fitch, Walter M. and Margoliash, E., "The
Construction of Phylogenetic Trees. II. How Well Do They
Reflect Past History?," Brookhaven Symp. in Biol.
2l, 2l7-242 (l968).
- Fitch, Walter M. and Neel, J. V., "The
Phylogenetic Relationships of Some Indian Tribes of Central
and South America," Am. J. Human Genetics 2l,
384-397 (l969).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Further Improvements
in the Method for Testing for Evolutionary Homology Among
Proteins," J. Mol. Biol. 49, l-l4 (l970).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Distinguishing
Homologous From Analogous Proteins," Syst. Zool.
l9, 99-113 (l970).
- Fitch, Walter M. and Margoliash, E., "The
Usefulness of Amino Acid and Nucleotide Sequences in Evolutionary
Studies," Evolutionary Biology, Vol. IV, Steere,
Dobzhansky and Hecht, eds., 67-109 (1970).
- Fitch, Walter M. and Markowitz, E., "An
Improved Method for Determining Codon Variability in a Gene
and Its Application to the Rate of fixations of Mutations
in Evolution," Bioch. Gen. 4, 579-593 (1970).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Toward defining
the course of evolution: minimum change for a specific tree
topology," Systematic Zoology 20: 406-416 (1971).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Does the Fixation
of Neutral Mutations Form a Significant Part of Observed
Evolution in Proteins?," Brookhaven Symp. in Biol.
23, l86-2l6 (l972).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Are Human Hemoglobin
Variants Distributed Randomly Among the Positions?,"
J. Mol. Evol. 2, 181-186 (1973).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Aspects of Molecular
Evolution," Ann. Rev. Genetics 7, 343-380 (1973).
- Wu, T.T., Fitch, Walter M. and Margoliash,
E., "The Information Content of Protein Amino Acid
Sequences." Ann. Rev. Biochem. 43, 539-556 (1974).
- Langley, C. H. and Fitch, Walter M., "An
Examination of the Constancy of the Rate of Molecular Evolution,"
J. Mol. Evol. 3, 161-177 (1974).
- Fitch, Walter M. and Farris, J. S. "Evolutionary
Trees with Minimum Nucleotide Replacements from Amino Acid
Sequences." J. Mol. Evol., 3, 263-278 (1974).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Evolutionary Rates
in Proteins and the Cost of Natural Selection: Implications
for Neutral Mutations," in F. M. Salzano, ed. The
Role of Natural Selection in Human Evolution (Amsterdam,
1975), pp. 43-56.
- Fitch, Walter M., "An Evaluation of
Molecular Evolutionary Clocks," in F. J. Ayala, ed.
Molecular Study of Biological Evolution (Sunderland,
Mass: Sinauer Associates, 1976), pp. l60-l78.
- Fitch, Walter M. and Langley, C. H., "Protein
Evolution and the Molecular Clock," Fed. Proc.,
35, 2092-2097 (l976).
- Fitch, Walter M. and Langley, C. H., "Evolutionary
Rates in Proteins, Neutral Mutations and the Molecular clock,"
in M. Goodman and R. E. Tashian, eds. Molecular Anthropology
(New York: Plenum Press, 1976), pp. 197-219.
- Fitch, Walter M., "Challenges to Darwinism
Since the Last Centennial and the Impact of Molecular Studies,"
Evolution, 36, 1133-1143 (1982).
- Gray, G. and Fitch, Walter M., "Evolution
of Antibiotic Resistance Genes: The DNA Sequence of a Kanamycin
Resistance Gene from Staphylococcus aureus," Mol.
Biol. & Evol., 1, 57-66 (1983).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Cladistic and Other
Methods: Problems, Pitfalls and Potentials," in T.
Duncan, T. F. Steussy, Eds., Cladistics: Perspectives
on the Reconstruction of Evolutionary History (New York:
Columbia Univ. Press, 1984), pp. 221-252.
- Fitch, W.M. and Atchley, W.R. "Evolution
in inbred strains of mice appears rapid," Science
228: 1169-1175 (1985).
- Fitch, Walter M., "Unresolved Problems
in DNA Sequence Analysis," in M. Miura ed. Lectures
on Mathematics in the Life Sciences (Providence, RI:
American Mathematical Society, 1986), pp. 1-18.
- Fitch, W.M., Leiter, J.M.E., Li, X. and
Palese, P., "Positive Darwinian Evolution in Human
Influenza A Viruses," PNAS, 88, 4270-4274 (1991).
- Nichol, S.T., Rowe, J.E. and Fitch, W.M.,
"Punctuated Equilibrium and Positive Darwinian Evolution
in Vesicular Stomatitis Virus.," PNAS. 90, 10424-
10428 (1993).
- Fitch, W.M. and Ayala, F.J., "The
Superoxide Dismutase Molecular Clock Revisited." PNAS
91, 6802-6807 (1994).
- Fitch, Walter M. and Ayala, Francisco J.,
"Molecular Clocks Are Not as Bad as You Think,"
in D.M. Fambrough, ed.,Molecular Evolution of Physiological
Processes, (New York: Rockefeller Univ. Press, 1984)
pp. 3-12.
- Miyamoto, Michael M. and Fitch, Walter
M. "Testing the Covarion Hypothesis of Molecular Evolution,"
Mol. Biol. Evol. 12, 503-513 (1995).
- Fitch, Walter M. "Uses for Evolutionary
Trees." Phil. Trans. Royal Society LondonB 349,
93-102 (1995).
- Fitch, Walter M. "The Variety of Human
Virus Evolution." Mol. Phylogen. and Evolution.
5, 247-258 (1996).
- Bush, Robin M., Fitch, Walter M., Smith,
Catherine B. and Cox, Nancy J. "Predicting influenza
evolution: the impact of terminal and egg-adapted mutations."
International Congress Series, 345, xxx-xxx, (2001).
This page was written by Jay Aronson on September 22, 2001
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