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Related Concept Videos

Mutations in Microorganisms01:18

Mutations in Microorganisms

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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,...
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Organisms are capable of detecting and fixing nucleotide mismatches that occur during DNA replication. This sophisticated process requires identifying the new strand and replacing the erroneous bases with correct nucleotides. Mismatch repair is coordinated by many proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
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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.
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Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

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In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
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Conservation of Small Populations02:04

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Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less...
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DNA replication is a well-evolved process that copies millions of base pairs with high fidelity during each cell division. Occasionally a wrong base or a long stretch of wrong bases may get added to the daughter strands. If the errors are left unchecked, cells might accumulate several mutations that might endanger their  survival. Therefore, the copying errors are checked and repaired at three levels.
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Measuring Microbial Mutation Rates with the Fluctuation Assay
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Prochlorococcus have low global mutation rate and small effective population size.

Zhuoyu Chen1, Xiaojun Wang2,3, Yu Song1

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science and College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.

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Genetic drift significantly influences Prochlorococcus evolution. Researchers measured the mutation rate of Prochlorococcus marinus and calculated its effective population size (Ne), revealing genetic drift as a key evolutionary driver.

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Area of Science:

  • Marine microbiology
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Prochlorococcus are abundant marine photoautotrophs with traits resembling endosymbiotic bacteria.
  • Their evolutionary mechanisms were thought to differ from endosymbionts due to large effective population sizes (Ne).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the mutation rate and effective population size (Ne) of Prochlorococcus.
  • To investigate the role of genetic drift in Prochlorococcus evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted a 1,065-day mutation accumulation experiment with Prochlorococcus marinus AS9601.
  • Sequenced genomes of 141 mutant lines to determine the mutation rate.
  • Defined population boundaries using PopCOGenT and over 400 related genomes to calculate Ne.

Main Results:

  • Determined the mutation rate of Prochlorococcus marinus to be 3.50 × 10⁻¹⁰ per site per generation.
  • Calculated the effective population size (Ne) of Prochlorococcus marinus to be 1.68 × 10⁷.
  • Found Ne to be only moderately larger than endosymbionts and smaller than many free-living bacteria.

Conclusions:

  • Genetic drift is a significant factor in Prochlorococcus evolution.
  • Prochlorococcus's evolutionary trajectory may be more influenced by drift than previously assumed.