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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
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Published on: February 3, 2023

Evolution of simple sequence repeats as mutable sites.

David G King1

  • 1Department of Anatomy, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois, USA. dgking@siu.edu

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|April 6, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are surprisingly common in functional DNA. Their persistence suggests natural selection may favor these mutable sequences for evolutionary adaptation.

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Area of Science:

  • Genomics
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Natural selection typically favors reduced mutation rates.
  • The presence of mutationally unstable simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in functional genomic regions challenges this assumption.
  • The evolutionary role of SSRs (burden or benefit) is debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary explanations for the abundance of simple sequence repeats (SSRs).
  • To determine if SSRs persist despite or because of their mutability.
  • To explore the potential role of SSRs as facilitators of evolutionary adaptation.

Main Methods:

  • The study discusses contrasting evolutionary hypotheses for SSR abundance.
  • It considers the possibility that natural selection cannot suppress SSR mutability.
  • It explores the alternative hypothesis of indirect selection favoring SSRs for fitness benefits.

Main Results:

  • SSRs may be evolutionarily conserved, particularly in genes related to neurological function.
  • Natural selection might indirectly favor SSRs, utilizing them as "tuning knobs" for adaptation.
  • This suggests SSRs could play a role in incremental adjustability and fitness.

Conclusions:

  • The deep evolutionary conservation of some SSRs supports their adaptive potential.
  • SSRs might serve as "tuning knobs" that facilitate evolutionary adaptation.
  • The findings challenge the presumption that natural selection always minimizes mutation rates.