Blog Post Module 4: Reflection Prompt

 Do you think mutation rates evolve? Explain your answer in the context of Darwin's postulates about natural selection!

I believe that mutation rates evolve through the generations. Mutations are part of evolution because, without a change in mutations, nothing will occur. The change could not happen if mutation rates evolved. The mutation is a key driver in genetic variation and genetic drift. The changes are necessary for genetic changes and selection purposes. The new mutation rates evolve and cater to increase or decrease in fitness, genetic variability to avoid inbreeding and other necessary changes. Mutation rates can also increase or decrease in genes and the rate can change depending on the evolution occurring. In the context of Darwin’s postulates, evolution is occurring and leading to natural selection. The three postulates are “individuals within species are variable, some of these variations are heritable, and individuals that reproduce the most are those with the most favorable variations.” These all contribute to how mutation rates evolve, there is change happening causing genetic evolution. There is variation in species and that can be attributed to mutations, the rates might have evolved and been faster at some points and slower at others. There are theories in evolution and mutation rates, there is the idea that the generation of more deleterious mutations with higher mutation, the changes are more prominent. The next idea is that the generation with the best mutations has a higher rate of mutations. And the metabolic costs and reduced replication rates are necessary to prevent mutations. Darwin’s ideas of change and evolution's basic principles contribute to how mutation rates evolve. 

 

Under what circumstances do you envision high or low mutation rates to be adaptive?

High mutation rates could be adaptive when there are changes in environmental pressures. If there are pressures causing issues, evolution will occur and mutations will be high to try to adapt to the environment. In addition, I could see high mutation rates when there need to be generic changes quickly, in the case of a bottleneck event. If genetics need to adapt quickly to avoid issues, mutations can occur very fast. High mutation rates can be in cancer genomes because there is uncontrolled division. The mutation rates are impacted by variability in cellular processes. There might be low mutation rates in very controlled environments or stable ones that don't require change. The low mutation rates can be advantageous because they can promote ideal phenotypic effects of mutation without major interferences from deleterious mutations. So if the species needs ideal phenotypic traits and there are minimal pressures, it can be advantageous to have low mutation rates. There are different pressures and environmental factors that can influence whether there will be high or low mutation rates.