Evolution of base-substitution gradients in primate mitochondrial genomes.

ABSTRACT: Inferences of phylogenies and dates of divergence rely on accurate modeling of evolutionary processes; they may be confounded by variation in substitution rates among sites and changes in evolutionary processes over time. In vertebrate mitochondrial genomes, substitution rates are affected by a gradient along the genome of the time spent being single-stranded during replication, and different types of substitutions respond differently to this gradient. The gradient is controlled by biological factors including the rate of replication and functionality of repair mechanisms; little is known, however, about the consistency of the gradient over evolutionary time, or about how evolution of this gradient might affect phylogenetic analysis. Here, we evaluate the evolution of response to this grad

SUBMITTER: Raina SZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1088294 | biostudies-literature | 2005 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature