Somatic mutation rates scale with time not growth rate in long-lived tropical trees.

ABSTRACT: The rates of appearance of new mutations play a central role in evolution. However, mutational processes in natural environments and their relationship with growth rates are largely unknown, particular in tropical ecosystems with high biodiversity. Here, we examined the somatic mutation landscapes of two tropical trees, Shorea laevis (slow-growing) and S. leprosula (fast-growing), in central Borneo, Indonesia. Using newly constructed genomes, we identified a greater number of somatic mutations in tropical trees than in temperate trees. In both species, we observed a linear increase in the number of somatic mutations with physical distance between branches. However, we found that the rate of somatic mutation accumulation per meter of growth was 3.7-fold higher in S. laevis<

SUBMITTER: Satake A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11498935 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature