Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Mutations in Microorganisms01:18

Mutations in Microorganisms

1.1K
Mutations are heritable changes in an organism’s genome involving alterations in the base sequence of DNA or RNA. These changes can influence cellular processes and phenotypic traits, potentially transforming the unaltered wild type into a mutant form. Such changes, termed forward mutations, are pivotal in shaping the genetic diversity of organisms.RNA viruses exhibit the highest mutation rates due to the absence of robust proofreading mechanisms during genome replication. In contrast,...
1.1K
Spontaneous and Induced Mutations01:30

Spontaneous and Induced Mutations

3.4K
Spontaneous mutations arise infrequently during DNA replication due to errors in the process. A key factor behind these errors is tautomeric shifts in nitrogenous bases, where bases transition from keto to enol forms or amino to imino forms. This shift can alter base-pairing rules, leading to mutations. Additionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) arising from aerobic metabolism can damage DNA, resulting in depurination (loss of a purine base) or depyrimidination (loss of a pyrimidine base).
3.4K
Protein Denaturation01:28

Protein Denaturation

11.3K
The function of proteins depends on their native three-dimensional structure, which is dictated by the amino acid sequence of the specific protein. Folding of the polypeptide chain takes place under specific conditions that energetically favor the folded conformation. In contrast, protein denaturation occurs spontaneously under unfavorable conditions that disrupt the integrity of the folded conformation. Thus, the chemical and physical environment of a protein, such as significant changes in pH...
11.3K
Factors Influencing Microbial Growth: Temperature01:27

Factors Influencing Microbial Growth: Temperature

2.1K
Microorganisms display remarkable adaptations, enabling them to thrive in diverse ecological niches across a wide range of temperatures. Temperature profoundly influences microbial growth by affecting enzymatic activity, membrane fluidity, and other cellular processes.Each microorganism operates within a specific temperature range defined by three cardinal points: minimum, optimum, and maximum. Below the minimum temperature, membranes lose fluidity, halting transport processes. Above the...
2.1K
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

8.4K
The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
In contrast, regions which code...
8.4K
Mutations01:35

Mutations

46.6K
Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA. These changes can occur spontaneously or they can be induced by exposure to environmental factors. Mutations can be characterized in a number of different ways: whether and how they alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, whether they occur over a small or large area of DNA, and whether they occur in somatic cells or germline cells.
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
46.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Signatures of gene transfer in the parallel evolution of osmotrophic specialization in eukaryotes.

Nature ecology & evolution·2026
Same author

Phylogenomic mixture models outperform homogeneous and partitioned models.

Molecular biology and evolution·2026
Same author

Gene copy-number features generalize better than SNPs for antimicrobial resistance prediction in Staphylococcus aureus.

npj antimicrobials and resistance·2025
Same author

Dated gene duplications elucidate the evolutionary assembly of eukaryotes.

Nature·2025
Same author

Convergent genomic responses of human gut bacteria to variations in industrialization.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

A timetree of Fungi dated with fossils and horizontal gene transfers.

Nature ecology & evolution·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 17, 2026

A New Screening Method for the Directed Evolution of Thermostable Bacteriolytic Enzymes
13:30

A New Screening Method for the Directed Evolution of Thermostable Bacteriolytic Enzymes

Published on: November 7, 2012

18.7K

Effective temperature of mutations.

Imre Derényi1, Gergely J Szöllősi1

  • 1ELTE-MTA "Lendulet" Biophysics Research Group, Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös University, Pázmány Peter Setany 1A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.

Physical Review Letters
|February 21, 2015
PubMed
Summary

Biological macromolecules face genetic mutations and thermal fluctuations. A study reveals these distinct molecular noise types have statistically similar effects on secondary structures, linking genetic and environmental robustness.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Computational Biology

Background:

  • Biological macromolecules are subject to two primary sources of noise: point mutations affecting molecular sequence and thermal fluctuations impacting dynamics.
  • These noise sources operate on different timescales but can influence molecular structure and function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between the effects of point mutations and thermal fluctuations on biological macromolecule secondary structures.
  • To determine if these seemingly different noise types have statistically comparable impacts.
  • To establish a quantitative link between robustness to genetic and environmental perturbations.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of secondary structures for a large dataset of microRNA precursor sequences.

More Related Videos

Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model System to Study Protein Homeostasis in a Multicellular Organism
12:38

Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model System to Study Protein Homeostasis in a Multicellular Organism

Published on: December 18, 2013

6.6K
Determination of Protein-ligand Interactions Using Differential Scanning Fluorimetry
13:26

Determination of Protein-ligand Interactions Using Differential Scanning Fluorimetry

Published on: September 13, 2014

63.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 17, 2026

A New Screening Method for the Directed Evolution of Thermostable Bacteriolytic Enzymes
13:30

A New Screening Method for the Directed Evolution of Thermostable Bacteriolytic Enzymes

Published on: November 7, 2012

18.7K
Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model System to Study Protein Homeostasis in a Multicellular Organism
12:38

Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model System to Study Protein Homeostasis in a Multicellular Organism

Published on: December 18, 2013

6.6K
Determination of Protein-ligand Interactions Using Differential Scanning Fluorimetry
13:26

Determination of Protein-ligand Interactions Using Differential Scanning Fluorimetry

Published on: September 13, 2014

63.2K
  • Examination of secondary structures for model lattice proteins.
  • Statistical comparison of the effects of single point mutations versus thermal fluctuations.

    • Main Results:

    • The effects of single point mutations on secondary structures were found to be statistically indistinguishable from the effects of a modest temperature increase (tens of kelvins).
    • This indicates an "effective mutational temperature" that unifies the impact of sequence changes and thermal noise.
    • Demonstrated a quantitative connection between robustness to genetic and thermal perturbations.

    Conclusions:

    • Point mutations and thermal fluctuations can exert similar influences on the secondary structures of biological macromolecules.
    • The concept of an "effective mutational temperature" provides a novel framework for understanding macromolecular robustness.
    • This finding has implications for predicting how genetic variations and environmental changes affect molecular stability and function.