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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
Published on: February 3, 2023
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Evolutionary Dynamics of Oncosuppression Under Selection Pressure.
Mikhail Potievskiy1, Peter A Shatalov1, Ilya Klabukov1,2
1National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 4 Koroleva Street, 249036 Obninsk, Russia.
Life (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 29, 2025
Summary
Evolutionary selection on cancer-suppressing genes varies with traits like flight and body temperature. These findings offer insights into cancer origins and pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genetics
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Environmental and physiological changes can influence cancer risk.
- Oncosuppressor genes play a critical role in preventing cancer.
- Understanding gene evolution in relation to traits is key to cancer research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the evolutionary selection pressures on oncosuppressor genes.
- To associate these pressures with specific phenotypic traits.
- To investigate the direction and strength of selection on cancer-related genes.
Main Methods:
- Calculated relative evolutionary rates (RER) using phylogenetic tree analysis.
- Examined oncosuppressors (DNA repair, cell cycle control genes).
- Analyzed traits in 100 vertebrate and 46 mammal species.
Main Results:
- Oncosuppressor genes accelerated with flight, decelerated in homeotherms.
- DNA repair genes accelerated in amniotes, homeotherms, and high-body-mass mammals.
- Cell cycle genes showed stabilizing selection in homeotherms and specialized mammals.
Conclusions:
- Trait evolution correlates with selection on oncosuppressor genes.
- Flight is linked to positive/relaxed negative selection.
- Homeothermy and specialized mammalian traits involve stabilizing selection.
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