Low mutation rate but high male-bias in the germline of a short-lived opossum.

ABSTRACT: Age and sex have been found to be important determinants of the mutation rate per generation in mammals, but the mechanisms underlying these factors are still unclear. One approach to distinguishing between alternative mechanisms is to study species that reproduce at very young ages, as competing hypotheses make different predictions about patterns of mutation in these organisms. Here, we study the germline mutation rate in the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, a laboratory model species that becomes reproductively mature at less than 6 mo of age. Whole-genome sequencing of 22 trios reveals one of the lowest mutation rates per generation found in mammals thus far (0.252 × 10-8 per base pair per generation at an average parental age of 313 d), which is expected given their e

SUBMITTER: Pena-Garcia Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12456103 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature