ArticlePLoS pathogens2012
From molecular genetics to phylodynamics: evolutionary relevance of mutation rates across viruses.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
82 citing papers in PubMed.
- Quantifying the diversification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) during primary infection: estimates of the in vivo mutation rate.PLoS pathogens · 2012Trial
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- The Phylodynamic Threshold of Measurably Evolving Populations.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Viral introductions and return to baseline sexual behaviors maintain low-level mpox incidence in Los Angeles.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Molecular epidemiology and multi-scale drivers of piscine myocarditis virus dispersal in salmon aquaculture.Virus evolution · 2026Article
- Respiratory enterovirus D68: virology, clinical surveillance, host-pathogen interactions, and therapeutic prospects.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Global Prevalence of Non-Polio Enteroviruses Pre- and Post COVID-19 Pandemic.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Viral introductions and return to baseline sexual behaviors maintain low-level mpox incidence in Los Angeles County, USA, 2023-2024.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Exploiting Viral DNA Genomes to Explore the Dispersal History of African Swine Fever Genotype II Lineages in Europe.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Examining the molecular clock hypothesis for the contemporary evolution of the rabies virus.PLoS pathogens · 2024Article
- Assessing the effect of model specification and prior sensitivity on Bayesian tests of temporal signal.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- The Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Bovine Leukemia Virus among Dairy Cattle in Henan Province, China.Viruses · 2024Article
- Fidelity Characterization of Highly Pathogenic Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus and NADC30-like Strain.Viruses · 2024Article
- Structural basis of Acinetobacter type IV pili targeting by an RNA virus.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Article
- Aptamers: precision tools for diagnosing and treating infectious diseases.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Review
- Early underdetected dissemination across countries followed by extensive local transmission propelled the 2022 mpox epidemic.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- SARS-CoV-2 genomics and impact on clinical care for COVID-19.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2023Article
- Viral Evolution Shaped by Host Proteostasis Networks.Annual review of virology · 2023Review
22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
Although evolution is a multifactorial process, theory posits that the speed of molecular evolution should be directly determined by the rate at which spontaneous mutations appear. To what extent these two biochemical and population-scale processes are related in nature, however, is largely unknown. Viruses are an ideal system for addressing this question because their evolution is fast enough to be observed in real time, and experimentally-determined mutation rates are abundant. This article provides statistically supported evidence that the mutation rate determines molecular evolution across all types of viruses. Properties of the viral genome such as its size and chemical composition are identified as major determinants of these rates. Furthermore, a quantitative analysis reveals that, as expected, evolution rates increase linearly with mutation rates for slowly mutating viruses. However, this relationship plateaus for fast mutating viruses. A model is proposed in which deleterious mutations impose an evolutionary speed limit and set an extinction threshold in nature. The model is consistent with data from replication kinetics, selection strength and chemical mutagenesis studies.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.