Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-11-2013
Abstract
We explored the relationship between relaxed selection, oxidative stress, and spontaneous mutation in a set of mutation-accumulation (MA) lines of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and in their common ancestor. We measured steady-state levels of free radicals and oxidatively damaged guanosine nucleosides in the somatic tissues of five MA lines for which nuclear genome base substitution and GC-TA transversion frequencies are known. The two markers of oxidative stress are highly correlated and are elevated in the MA lines relative to the ancestor; point estimates of the per-generation rate of mutational decay (DM) of these measures of oxidative stress are similar to those reported for fitness-related traits. Conversely, there is no significant relationship between either marker of oxidative stress and the per-generation frequencies of base substitution or GC-TA transversion. Although these results provide no direct evidence for a causative relationship between oxidative damage and base substitution mutations, to the extent that oxidative damage may be weakly mutagenic in the germline, the case for condition-dependent mutation is advanced.
Original Publication Title
Plos One
Volume
8
Issue
6
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Joyner-Matos, Joanna; Hicks, Kiley A.; Cousins, Dustin; Keller, Michelle; Denver, Dee R.; Baer, Charles F.; and Estes, Suzanne, "Evolution Of A Higher Intracellular Oxidizing Environment In Caenorhabditis Elegans Under Relaxed Selection" (2013). Biology Faculty Publications. 4.
https://dc.ewu.edu/biol_fac/4
