Motoo Kimura
| Motoo Kimura | |
|---|---|
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| Born | November 13, 1924 Okazaki, Japan |
| Died | November 13, 1994 (aged 70) |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin |
| Doctoral advisor | James F. Crow |
| Other academic advisors | Sewall Wright, Hitoshi Kihara |
| Known for | development of neutral theory of molecular evolution, and contributions to evolutionary biology, population genetics |
| Notable awards | Asahi Prize (1986) John J. Carty Award (1987) International Prize for Biology (1988) Darwin Medal (1992) Fellow of the Royal Society |
Motoo Kimura (木村 資生 Kimura Motoo?, November 13, 1924 – November 13, 1994) was a Japanese biologist best known for introducing the neutral theory of molecular evolution in 1968, in collaboration with Tomoko Ohta. He became one of the most influential theoretical population geneticists. He is remembered in genetics for his innovative use of diffusion equations to calculate the probability of fixation of beneficial, deleterious, or neutral alleles. Combining theoretical population genetics with molecular evolution data, he also developed the neutral theory of molecular evolution in which genetic drift is the main force changing allele frequencies.James F. Crow, himself a renowned population geneticist, considered Kimura to be one of the two greatest evolutionary geneticists, along with Gustave Malécot, after the great trio of the Modern evolutionary synthesis, Ronald Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane and Sewall Wright.
Kimura was born in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture. From an early age he was very interested in botany, though he also excelled at mathematics (teaching himself geometry and other maths during a lengthy convalescence due to food poisoning). After entering a selective high school in Nagoya, Kimura focused on plant morphology and cytology; he worked in the laboratory of M. Kumazawa studying the chromosome structure of lilies. With Kumazawa, he also discovered how to connect his interests in botany and mathematics: biometry.
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