Contrasting mutation patterns in haploid and diploid cells from two yeast species.

ABSTRACT: There is significant variation in the rate and spectrum of spontaneous mutations among taxa. How this variation is shaped by natural selection remains a subject of debate. The drift barrier hypothesis proposes that selection generally favors lower mutation rates due to the risk of deleterious mutations but acts less effectively against weak mutator alleles in smaller populations, allowing the mutation rate to increase due to genetic drift. Given this model, we propose that mutation rates may also be elevated in cell types that appear rarely in a population, where DNA replication and repair processes are subject to selection less often. We can begin to test this prediction in yeast species, some of which can be grown in either a haploid or diploid cell state. Existing data on the budding ye

SUBMITTER: Bao K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12621929 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature