Estimates of the Mutation Rate per Year Can Explain Why the Molecular Clock Depends on Generation Time.

Abstract excerpt

Rates of molecular evolution are known to vary across species, often deviating from the classical expectation of a strict molecular clock. In many cases, the rate of molecular evolution has been found to correlate to generation time, an effect that could be explained if species with shorter generation times have higher mutation rates per year. We investigate this hypothesis using direct estimates of the mutation...

Topics

• Mutation Rate
• Evolution, Molecular
• Phylogeny
• Models, Genetic
• Mutation
• Eukaryota
• Time Factors