A Genome-wide View of the Spectrum of Spontaneous Mutations in Yeast

Overview

Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Specialty Science

Date 2008 Jun 28

PMID 18583475

Citations 398

Authors

Michael Lynch

Way Sung

Krystalynne Morris

Nicole Coffey

Christian R Landry

Erik B Dopman

W Joseph Dickinson

Kazufusa Okamoto

Shilpa Kulkarni

Daniel L Hartl

W Kelley Thomas

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The mutation process ultimately defines the genetic features of all populations and, hence, has a bearing on a wide range of issues involving evolutionary genetics, inheritance, and genetic disorders, including the predisposition to cancer. Nevertheless, formidable technical barriers have constrained our understanding of the rate at which mutations arise and the molecular spectrum of their effects. Here, we report on the use of complete-genome sequencing in the characterization of spontaneously arising mutations in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our results confirm some findings previously obtained by indirect methods but also yield numerous unexpected findings, in particular a very high rate of point mutation and skewed distribution of base-substitution types in the mitochondrion, a very high rate of segmental duplication and deletion in the nuclear genome, and substantial deviations in the mutational profile among various model organisms.

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