An epistatic ratchet constrains the direction of glucocorticoid receptor evolution.

ABSTRACT: The extent to which evolution is reversible has long fascinated biologists. Most previous work on the reversibility of morphological and life-history evolution has been indecisive, because of uncertainty and bias in the methods used to infer ancestral states for such characters. Further, despite theoretical work on the factors that could contribute to irreversibility, there is little empirical evidence on its causes, because sufficient understanding of the mechanistic basis for the evolution of new or ancestral phenotypes is seldom available. By studying the reversibility of evolutionary changes in protein structure and function, these limitations can be overcome. Here we show, using the evolution of hormone specificity in the vertebrate glucocorticoid receptor as a case-study, that the ev

SUBMITTER: Bridgham JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6141187 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature