2019/04/01 by Devon M. Fitzgerald, Susan M. Rosenberg · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #CRISPR and Genetic Engineering #Evolution and Genetic Dynamics #Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1007995
openalex publication_date 2019/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Mutations drive evolution and were assumed to occur by chance: constantly, gradually, roughly uniformly in genomes, and without regard to environmental inputs, but this view is being revised by discoveries of molecular mechanisms of mutation in bacteria, now translated across the tree of life. These mechanisms reveal a picture of highly regulated mutagenesis, up-regulated temporally by stress responses and activated when cells/organisms are maladapted to their environments-when stressed-potentially accelerating adaptation. Mutation is also nonrandom in genomic space, with multiple simultaneous mutations falling in local clusters, which may allow concerted evolution-the multiple changes needed to adapt protein functions and protein machines encoded by linked genes. Molecular mechanisms of stress-inducible mutation change ideas about evolution and suggest different ways to model and address cancer development, infectious disease, and evolution generally.