Gabriel Dover

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Gabriel A. Dover (13 December 1937 – 1 April 2018) was a British geneticist, best known for coining the term molecular drive in 1982 to describe a putative third evolutionary force operating distinctly from natural selection and genetic drift. In 1972 he received a PhD from the University of Cambridge for research on the genetics and function of the meiotic pairing-control systems, supervised by Ralph Riley.

Research and career Dover's research was on the evolution of genes and genomes, particularly the complex processes that occur in multigene families such as ribosomal RNA genes. His recent work has focused on development in flies, in particular the co-evolution between the developmental regulatory elements involved in morphogenesis.

The majority of his career was spent at the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge. In 1992, Dover became a professor of genetics at the University of Leicester. He was awarded a Research Fellowship in 1997 and an emeritus Fellowship in 2002 by the Leverhulme Trust.

Dover co-edited the textbook Genome Evolution with Richard B. Flavell. He also wrote a popular book on evolution, Dear Mr Darwin: Letters on the Evolution of Life and Human Nature, framed as an exchange of letters with Charles Darwin from beyond the grave. The book seeks to refute the selfish gene theory promulgated by Richard Dawkins.

Personal life Dover retired in 2002 and lived in Oxford.