Variation in synonymous substitution rates among mammalian genes and the correlation between synonymous and nonsynonymous divergences (original) (raw)

Abstract

Using mammalian gene sequences, the variances in the numbers of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions among genes were estimated together with the correlation coefficient between the two. The expected correlation coefficient can be obtained under the neutral theory using these estimated values of the variances. The expected coefficient is found to often be one-half to two-thirds of the observed value. Possible causes for the disagreement were discussed, such as correlated selective constraints on the two types of substitutions and excess doublet mutations. The variance of mutation rate and that of selective constraint were also estimated. The results show that the coefficient of variation of the former is 0.2–0.3, whereas that of the latter is 0.7–0.9.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. National Institute of Genetics, 411, Mishima, Japan
   Tomoko Ohta & Yasuo Ina

Authors

1. Tomoko Ohta
2. Yasuo Ina

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Correspondence to: T. Ohta

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Ohta, T., Ina, Y. Variation in synonymous substitution rates among mammalian genes and the correlation between synonymous and nonsynonymous divergences.J Mol Evol 41, 717–720 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00173150

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• Received: 07 April 1995
• Accepted: 03 July 1995
• Issue date: December 1995
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00173150

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