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Related Experiment Videos

The evolution of mutation rates: separating causes from consequences.

P D Sniegowski1, P J Gerrish, T Johnson

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. paulsnie@sas.upenn.edu

Bioessays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
|November 21, 2000
PubMed
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Natural selection favors lower mutation rates due to harmful mutations. However, the physiological cost of DNA fidelity may set the minimum mutation rate, regardless of adaptation benefits.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular biology

Background:

  • Natural selection influences mutation rates via DNA replication and repair mechanisms.
  • Mutation is essential for genetic variation and adaptation, but most mutations are deleterious.
  • Selection generally favors lower genomic mutation rates due to the prevalence of harmful mutations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how natural selection shapes genomic mutation rates.
  • To determine the factors that balance selection for reduced mutation against the need for genetic variation.
  • To evaluate the role of beneficial mutations and the cost of DNA fidelity in setting mutation rates.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical modeling of selection pressures on mutation rates.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of evolutionary dynamics in sexual and asexual populations.
  • Consideration of physiological costs associated with DNA repair and replication fidelity.

    • Main Results:

    • Selection strongly favors lower mutation rates due to deleterious mutations.
    • Beneficial mutations can increase mutation rates, but this effect is limited in sexual populations.
    • High mutation rates can evolve in asexual populations but have limited adaptive significance.
    • The cost of DNA fidelity may be a primary determinant of the basal genomic mutation rate.

    Conclusions:

    • The genomic mutation rate is shaped by a balance between selection against deleterious mutations and the benefits of new variation.
    • The physiological cost of achieving high DNA fidelity likely sets a lower bound on mutation rates.
    • Special circumstances are required for mutation rates higher than this minimum to evolve and persist.