Generation time, life history and the substitution rate of neutral mutations.

ABSTRACT: Our understanding of molecular evolution is hampered by a lack of quantitative predictions about how life-history (LH) traits should correlate with substitution rates. Comparative studies have shown that neutral substitution rates vary substantially between species, and evidence shows that much of this diversity is associated with variation in LH traits. However, while these studies often agree, some unexplained and contradictory results have emerged. Explaining these results is difficult without a clear theoretical understanding of the problem. In this study, we derive predictions for the relationships between LH traits and substitution rates in iteroparous species by using demographic theory to relate commonly measured life-history traits to genetic generation time, and by implication to

SUBMITTER: Lehtonen J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4261869 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature