Crumbling Genome: The Impact of Deleterious Mutations on Humans

Kondrashov, PhD is Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Alexey S. His research interests include evolution of sex and genetic recombination, properties of spontaneous deleterious mutations and of selection against them, and dynamics of genetic variation in natural and artificial populations.

A mutation replacing just one of the more than three billion nucleotides in the human genome may lead to synthesis of a dysfunctional protein, and this can be inconsistent with life or cause a tragic disease. Several percent of young people suffer from diseases that are caused, exclusively or primarily, by pre-existing and new mutations in their genomes, including both a wide variety of genetically simple Mendelian diseases and diverse complex diseases such as birth anomalies, diabetes, and schizophrenia. It is certain to have great appeal among all those with an interest in the links between genetics and evolution and how they are likely to influence the future of

Several percent of even young people suffer from diseases that are caused, exclusively or primarily, by pre?existing and new mutations in their genomes, including both a wide variety of genetically simple Mendelian diseases and diverse complex diseases such as birth anomalies, diabetes, and schizophrenia. A mutation replacing just one of the more than three billion nucleotides in the human genome may lead to synthesis of a dysfunctional protein, and this can be inconsistent with life or cause a tragic disease. It is certain to have great appeal among all those with an interest in the links between genetics and evolution and how they are likely to influence the future of human health, medicine, and society.. However, the recent flood of genomic data made possible by next-generation methods of DNA sequencing, enabled scientists to explore the impacts of deleterious