Germ Line Mutation Rates in Old World Monkeys

Abstract

Abstract Mutations that occur in the germ line are the ultimate source of genetic variation upon which natural selection can act. As such, an understanding of the germ line mutation rate is crucial for interpreting evolutionary processes and products, whether in response to emerging infectious disease or climate change. Even in closely related species such as primates, substantial variation exists in both mutation rates as well as the mutational spectra, partially owing to differences in life history traits. Though considerable attention has been given to humans and other great apes in these characterisations, Old World monkeys represent an excellent and underutilised model system to investigate the extent and time scale at which mutation rates have evolved across the primate clade. Key Concepts Mutation rates are influenced by a variety of genetic factors, evolutionary processes and life history traits – many of which differ between primate species. As a consequence, studying the evolution of mutation rate itself across the primate clade has arisen as a key research question in the field of evolutionary and population genomics.