Journal of Molecular Evolution

Aims & Scope

Journal of Molecular Evolution covers experimental, computational, and theoretical work aimed at deciphering features of molecular evolution and the processes bearing on these features, from the initial formation of macromolecular systems through their evolution at the molecular level, the co-evolution of their functions in cellular and organismal systems, and their influence on organismal adaptation, speciation, and ecology.

Topics addressed include the evolution of informational macromolecules and their relation to more complex levels of biological organization, including populations and taxa, as well as the molecular basis for the evolution of ecological interactions of species and the use of molecular data to infer fundamental processes in evolutionary ecology.

This coverage accommodates such subfields as new genome sequences, comparative structural and functional genomics, population genetics, the molecular evolution of development, the evolution of gene regulation and gene interaction networks, and in vitro evolution of DNA and RNA, molecular evolutionary ecology, and the development of methods and theory that enable molecular evolutionary inference, including but not limited to, phylogenetic methods.

View Aims & Scope

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Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	1.8
2024	2.10

Journal Rank

Year	Value
2024	6568

Journal Citation Indicator

Year	Value
2024	368

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	0.818

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q1

h-index

Year	Value
2024	140

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Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science

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Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

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Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences

  Citation: 23627

  Authors: Motoo

• Evolutionary trees from DNA sequences: A maximum likelihood approach

  Citation: 11943

  Authors: Joseph

• Dating of the human-ape splitting by a molecular clock of mitochondrial DNA

  Citation: 6777

  Authors: Masami, Hirohisa, Taka-aki

• Evaluation of the maximum likelihood estimate of the evolutionary tree topologies from DNA sequence data, and the branching order in hominoidea

  Citation: 2482

  Authors: Hirohisa, Masami

• Maximum likelihood phylogenetic estimation from DNA sequences with variable rates over sites: Approximate methods

  Citation: 2388

  Authors: Ziheng

• Accuracy of estimated phylogenetic trees from molecular data

  Citation: 1902

  Authors: Masatoshi, Fumio, Yoshio

• Intervening Sequences of Regularly Spaced Prokaryotic Repeats Derive from Foreign Genetic Elements

  Citation: 1809

  Authors: Francisco J.M., Chc)sar, Jes�s, Elena

• Evolution of the cytochromeb gene of mammals

  Citation: 1666

  Authors: David M., Thomas D., Allan C.

• Progressive sequence alignment as a prerequisitetto correct phylogenetic trees

  Citation: 1360

  Authors: Da-Fei, Russell F.

• Patterns of nucleotide composition at fourfold degenerate sites of animal mitochondrial genomes

  Citation: 1323

  Authors: Nicole T., Thomas D.

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