Histone deletion mutants challenge the molecular clock hypothesis.

Abstract excerpt

A basic tenet of the molecular clock hypothesis is that the rate of sequence drift for a protein depends on the number of amino acid residues that are critical for its function. However, recent experiments have determined that, although core histone sequences are highly conserved among eukaryotes, large regions of the proteins are dispensable for growth in yeast.

Topics

• Amino Acid Sequence
• Biological Evolution
• Chromosome Deletion
• Histones
• Models, Genetic
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Mutation