Mutation and Evolution

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-2

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2. Deleterious mutations

   1. Some evolutionary consequences of deleterious mutations

      • Brian Charlesworth, Deborah Charlesworth

      Pages 3-19

   2. Risk of population extinction from fixation of deleterious and reverse mutations

      • Russell Lande

      Pages 21-27

   3. Deleterious mutation accumulation in organelle genomes

      • Michael Lynch, Jeffrey L. Blanchard

      Pages 29-39

   4. Mutation-selection balance with multiple alleles

      • Andrew G. Clark

      Pages 41-47

   5. Mutation pressure, natural selection, and the evolution of base composition in Drosophila

      • Hiroshi Akashi, Richard M. Kliman, Adam Eyre-Walker

      Pages 49-60

   6. Deleterious mutations in animal mitochondrial DNA

      • Michael W. Nachman

      Pages 61-69

   7. Requisite mutational load, pathway epistasis, and deterministic mutation accumulation in sexual versus asexual populations

      • William R. Rice

      Pages 71-81

3. Neutral (nearly neutral) mutations

   1. Evolution by nearly-neutral mutations

      • Tomoko Ohta

      Pages 83-90

   2. Compensatory neutral mutations and the evolution of RNA

      • Paul G. Higgs

      Pages 91-101

   3. The amount and pattern of DNA polymorphism under the neutral mutation hypothesis

      • Fumio Tajima, Kazuharu Misawa, Hideki Innan

      Pages 103-107

4. Beneficial mutations

   1. Adaptive mutagenesis: a process that generates almost exclusively beneficial mutations

      • Barry G. Hall

      Pages 109-125

   2. The fate of competing beneficial mutations in an asexual population

      • Philip J. Gerrish, Richard E. Lenski

      Pages 127-144

   3. An embarrassment of riches: the stochastic generation of beneficial mutations

      • Damian D. G. Gessler, Shizhong Xu

      Pages 145-155

   4. Selection, convergence, and intragenic recombination in HLA diversity

      • Naoyuki Takahata, Yoko Satta

      Pages 157-169

5. Quantitative traits

   1. Mutation and conflicts between artificial and natural selection for quantitative traits

      • William G. Hill, Said H. Mbaga

      Pages 171-181

   2. Measuring spontaneous deleterious mutation process

      • Alexey S. Kondrashov

      Pages 183-197

   3. Polygenic mutation in Drosophila melanogaster: genotype × environment interaction for spontaneous mutations affecting bristle number

      • Trudy F. C. Mackay, Richard F. Lyman

      Pages 199-215

   4. Environment-influenced expression of polygene mutations isolated from a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster

      • James N. Thompson Jr., Mingull Jeung, J. M. Thoday

      Pages 217-228

   5. Inferences on genome-wide deleterious mutation rates in inbred populations of Drosophila and mice

      • Armando Caballero, Peter D. Keightley

      Pages 229-239

Although debated since the time of Darwin, the evolutionary role of mutation is still controversial. In over 40 chapters from leading authorities in mutation and evolutionary biology, this book takes a new look at both the theoretical and experimental measurement and significance of new mutation. Deleterious, nearly neutral, beneficial, and polygenic mutations are considered in their effects on fitness, life history traits, and the composition of the gene pool. Mutation is a phenomenon that draws attention from many different disciplines. Thus, the extensive reviews of the literature will be valuable both to established researchers and to those just beginning to study this field. Through up-to-date reviews, the authors provide an insightful overview of each topic and then share their newest ideas and explore controversial aspects of mutation and the evolutionary process. From topics like gonadal mosaicism and mutation clusters to adaptive mutagenesis, mutation in cell organelles, and the level and distribution of DNA molecular changes, the foundation is set for continuing the debate about the role of mutation, fitness, and adaptability. It is a debate that will have profound consequences for our understanding of evolution.

• Charles Darwin
• DNA
• Darwin
• Mutation
• evolution
• evolutionary biology

• Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, USA

  Ronny C. Woodruff

• University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA

  James N. Thompson

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