Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37615267›Full record

ReviewEMBO reports2023

The divergence of mutation rates and spectra across the Tree of Life.

Michael Lynch, Farhan Ali, Tongtong Lin, Yaohai Wang, Jiahao Ni, Hongan Long

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in EMBO reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
62citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

62 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Dynamics of mutators of arbitrary dominance in humans.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Nucleotide diversity is a poor predictor of short-term adaptive potential.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Evolution of the highest fidelity DNA replication systems.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Dislodging the drift barrier: Why do mutation rates vary?Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Michael LynchBiodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1653-0642
Farhan AliBiodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4945-2978
Tongtong LinInstitute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, KLMME, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.ORCID 0000-0002-3515-2018
Yaohai WangInstitute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, KLMME, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
Jiahao NiInstitute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, KLMME, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
Hongan LongInstitute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, KLMME, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.

Funding

Causes and Population-genetic Consequences of Molecular VariationR35GM122566 · NIGMS · TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY · PI Michael R LYNCH · 2017 to 2026
$7.7M
NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM122566
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Owing to advances in genome sequencing, genome stability has become one of the most scrutinized cellular traits across the Tree of Life. Despite its centrality to all things biological, the mutation rate (per nucleotide site per generation) ranges over three orders of magnitude among species and several-fold within individual phylogenetic lineages. Within all major organismal groups, mutation rates scale negatively with the effective population size of a species and with the amount of functional DNA in the genome. This relationship is most parsimoniously explained by the drift-barrier hypothesis, which postulates that natural selection typically operates to reduce mutation rates until further improvement is thwarted by the power of random genetic drift. Despite this constraint, the molecular mechanisms underlying DNA replication fidelity and repair are free to wander, provided the performance of the entire system is maintained at the prevailing level. The evolutionary flexibility of the mutation rate bears on the resolution of several prior conundrums in phylogenetic and population-genetic analysis and raises challenges for future applications in these areas.

Indexed as

Genetic DriftMutation RateBiological EvolutionEvolution, MolecularMutationPhylogenySelection, Geneticdrift-barrier hypothesiseffective population sizemutation ratemutation spectrumnucleotide composition

Identifiers

PMID37615267
PMCPMC10561183

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.