DNA mismatch repair preferentially protects genes from mutation.

ABSTRACT: Mutation is the source of genetic variation and fuels biological evolution. Many mutations first arise as DNA replication errors. These errors subsequently evade correction by cellular DNA repair, for example, by the well-known DNA mismatch repair (MMR) mechanism. Here, we determine the genome-wide effects of MMR on mutation. We first identify almost 9000 mutations accumulated over five generations in eight MMR-deficient mutation accumulation (MA) lines of the model plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana We then show that MMR deficiency greatly increases the frequency of both smaller-scale insertions and deletions (indels) and of single-nucleotide variant (SNV) mutations. Most indels involve A or T nucleotides and occur preferentially in homopolymeric (poly A or poly T) genomic stretch

SUBMITTER: Belfield EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5749183 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature