Eyre-Walker, A (1992) The role of DNA replication and isochores in generating mutation and silent substitution rate variance in mammals. Mutation Research - Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, 60 (1). pp. 61-67. ISSN 1383-5718

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

It has been suggested that isochores are maintained by mutation biases, and that this leads to variation in the rate of mutation across the genome. A model of DNA replication is presented in which the probabilities of misincorporation and proofreading are affected by the composition and concentration of the free nucleotide pools. The relationship between sequence G+C content and the mutation rate is investigated. It is found that there is very little variation in the mutation rate between sequences of different G+C contents if the total concentration of the free nucleotides remains constant. However, variation in the mutation rate can be arbitrarily large if some mismatches are proofread and the total concentration of free nucleotides varies. Hence the model suggests that the maintenance of isochores by the replication of DNA in free nucleotide pools of biased composition does not lead per se to mutation rate variance. However, it is possible that changes in composition could be accompanied by changes in concentration, thus generating mutation rate variance. Furthermore, there is the possibility that germ-line selection could lead to alterations in the overall free nucleotide concentration through the cell cycle. These findings are discussed with reference to the variance in mammalian silent substitution rates.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Life Sciences > Evolution, Behaviour and Environment
Depositing User:	Adam Eyre-Walker
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2012 19:54
Last Modified:	18 Jun 2012 14:11
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/22838

📧 Request an update