Mutation rates
From EvoWiki
Measuring mutation rates is not always a simple question. Here are some papers on the topic.
Papers measuring mutation rates
John W. Drake, Brian Charlesworth, Deborah Charlesworth, and James F. Crow (1998). "Rates of Spontaneous Mutation." Genetics 148, 1667-1686. Journal
Drake J. W. (1999). "The distribution of rates of spontaneous mutation over viruses, prokaryotes, and eukaryotes." Ann N Y Acad Sci., 870, pp. 100-107. PubMed Journal -- Talk.origins post summarizing this paper
Short summary of one paper
Derived from my talk.origins post
Drake, John W. The Distribution of Rates of Spontaneous Mutation over Viruses, Prokaryotes, and Eukaryotes. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 870, pp. 100-107, in: Molecular Strategies in Biological Evolution, Lynn Helena Caporale, Ed.
Summary
- Average mutation rate over 3 bacterophages and 3 bacteria species: 0.0034 mutations per genome per genome replication
- For some higher eukaryotes, mutations per effective genome [part of
the genome where mutations are likely to have a deleterious effect, i.e. not the 'junk'] per sexual generation:
- C. elegans 0.036
- D. melanogaster 0.14
- M. musculus 0.9
- H. sapiens 1.6
- ...although the estimates are based on studies of specific loci and
have significant uncertainty.
- The table (table 4) also estimates the number of cell divisions
between sexual generations, Drake's estimate is:
- C. elegans 9.1
- D. melanogaster 25
- M. musculus 62
- H. sapiens 400
Just a good thing to have filed in the back of one's mind the next time Denton's equidistance argument comes up.
Contributors
From: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Jan 22;99(2):803-8. Epub 2002 Jan 15. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11792858&dopt=Citation
Using a computational analysis of 5,669 genes (17,208 sequences) from species representing major groups of placental mammals the author shows that mutations rates among a wide variety of mammal's genes are similar. The paper finds a rate a rate of 2.2 x 10(-9) per base pair per year.
--oplo
