A new study looked at the rates of mutations that arose between parents and their offspring in 68 vertebrate species, including Bolivian squirrel monkeys. Via quantamagazine
If they found a mutation in around 50 percent of an offspring’s DNA, they concluded that it was likely a germline mutation—one inherited through either the mother’s egg or the father’s sperm. Natural selection can act directly on such a mutation. Less frequent mutations were deemed to have happened spontaneously in tissues outside the germline; they were less relevant to evolution because they wouldn’t get passed on.
In the end, the researchers had 151 usable trios, representing species as physically, metabolically, and behaviorally diverse as massive killer whales, tiny Siamese fighting fish, Texas banded geckos, and humans. They then compared the species’ mutation rates with what we know about the behaviors and characteristics called their life history.
The most surprising finding that emerged from the data was the wide range of germline mutation rates. When the researchers measured how often the mutations occurred per generation, the species varied by only about 40-fold, which Bergeron said seemed quite small compared to the differences in body size, longevity, and other traits.
, which proposes that males may contribute more mutations to the evolution of some species than females do. Bergeron and her colleagues found that germline mutation rates tended to be higher for males than for females—at least in mammals and birds, though not in reptiles and fish. The authors noted a possible reason for those differences: Because males in all species copy their DNA constantly to make sperm, they face endless opportunities for mutations to occur. Female fish and reptiles make eggs throughout their lifetimes too, so they run a similar risk of genetic error. But female mammals and birds are essentially born with all the egg cells they will ever produce, so their germlines are more protected.
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