Interestingly, despite regular recombination, most multicellular eukaryotes have strikingly high genomic mutation rates, potentially suggesting a role for nonadaptive forces in shaping mutation rates in these species [ 15].
The two explanations just discussed both concern the role of selection in shaping mutation rates, whether increased positive selection for novelty or less efficient negative selection on DNA copy fidelity and repair.
The neighboring residues of a given residue play an important role in shaping the mutation pattern of the residue.
For the latter case, the modes change in order of appearance (modes swapping) and in shape (modes mutation) is investigated.
Sex differences in the magnitude or direction of mutational effect may be important to a variety of population processes, shaping the mutation load and affecting the cost of sex itself.
Genomes are shaped by mutation -- random changes in the chemical units of DNA caused by radiation or copying errors -- or by the force Darwin called natural selection, preserving the fittest organisms and discarding the rest.
Although the stated goal of the analysis is to understand how the replication mode shapes the mutation distribution, the treatment of mutations seems rather lightweight, by comparison to replication dynamics, and also has confusing aspects.
The origin of the hotspots remains unclear, the general view being that they represent highly mutable nucleotide contexts which likely reflect effects of different endogenous and exogenous factors shaping the mutation process in specific tissues.
[Editors' note: this article was originally rejected after review, but the authors were later invited to resubmit.] Thank you for choosing to send your work entitled "Experimentally guided mathematical modeling reveals RNA virus replication principles shaping the mutation distribution" for consideration at eLife.
In addition to environmental factors and intrinsic variations in base substitution rates, specific genome-destabilizing mutations can shape the mutational trajectory of genomes.
