Pleiotropy and the preservation of perfection.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 9508691.
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Abstract
A mathematical model is presented in which a single mutation can affect multiple phenotypic characters, each of which is subject to stabilizing selection. A wide range of mutations is allowed, including ones that produce extremely small phenotypic changes. The analysis shows that, when three or more characters are affected by each mutation, a single optimal genetic sequence may become common. This result provides a hypothesis to explain the low levels of variation and low rates of substitution that are observed at some loci.
Medical subject headings
- Genetics, Population
- Models, Genetic
- Mutation
- Phenotype
- Selection, Genetic