Structural Mutations Set an Equilibrium Noncoding Genome Fraction.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of noncoding genome size remains poorly understood. While part of noncoding DNA arguably plays a regulatory role, a significant portion does not appear to have a detectable phenotypic effect. The abundance of nonfunctional DNA in genomes, observed across the Tree of Life, challenges purely adaptationist explanations. Several nonadaptive theories have been proposed to explain its presence and identify its determinants, emphasizing either the mutational processes or the mutational hazard entailed by noncoding and nonfunctional DNA. However, those theories have not yet been integrated into a common framework, and the exact nature of the mutational hazard is not yet fully understood. In this work, we introduce a simple mathematical model of genome size evolution. Our model shows

SUBMITTER: Luiselli J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12690204 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature