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Can I read Rates of Genomic Divergence in Humans, Chimpanzees and Their Lice on EtoBox?

Rates of Genomic Divergence in Humans, Chimpanzees and Their Lice by Kevin P. Johnson; Julie M. Allen; Brett P. Olds; Lawrence Mugisha; David L. Reed; Ken N. Paige; Barry R. Pittendrigh is a Environmental Science article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Rates of Genomic Divergence in Humans, Chimpanzees and Their Lice about?

The rate of DNA mutation and divergence is highly variable across the tree of life. However, the reasons underlying this variation are not well understood. Comparing the rates of genetic changes between hosts and parasite lineages that diverged at the same time is one way to begin to understand differences in genetic mutation and substitution rates. Such studies have indicated that the rate of genetic divergence in parasites is often faster than that of their hosts when comparing single genes. However, the variation in this relative rate of molecular evolution across different genes in the genome is unknown. We compared the rate of DNA sequence divergence between humans, chimpanzees and their ectoparasitic lice for 1534 protein-coding genes across their genomes. The rate of DNA substitution in these orthologous genes was on average 14 times faster for lice than for humans and chimpanzees. In addition, these rates were positively correlated across genes. Because this correlation only occurred for substitutions that changed the amino acid, this pattern is probably produced by similar functional constraints across the same genes in humans, chimpanzees and their ectoparasites.

Who reads Rates of Genomic Divergence in Humans, Chimpanzees and Their Lice?

It is typically read by researchers, students, and practitioners in Environmental Science.

Author
Kevin P. Johnson; Julie M. Allen; Brett P. Olds; Lawrence Mugisha; David L. Reed; Ken N. Paige; Barry R. Pittendrigh
Publisher
The Royal Society
Published
2014
Language
EN
Field
Environmental Science (Life Sciences)

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