mutational robustness & genome architecture

Keller PJ & Knop M 2009 Evolution of mutational robustness in the yeast genome: a link to essential genes and meiotic recombination hotspots. PLoS Genet 5:e1000533

• in budding yeast, a prominent genome-wide enrichment of essential genes has been observed in regions that are cold for meiotic recombination
• consistent with the observation of a slight enrichement of essential genes near the centromeres

• a Monte-Carlo-simulation of breeding diploid yeast populations and chromosome architectures, termed S. digitalis

• purging of deleterious load depends on the tendency to accumulate load and on the presence of alleles that increase the rate at which mutations occur (i.e. mutator alleles)
• high mutation rates and genetic load have played an important role during evolution
• many aspects of the cellular physiology evolved to allow survival as fit but "flat" species