mutation

Scally A & Durbin R 2012 Revising the human mutation rate: implications for understanding human evolution. Nat Rev Genet 13:745-753.

• comparison of the sequence divergence between humans and macaques with fossil evidence for the split between apes and Old World monkeys¹ gives a phylogenetic rate estimate of approximately 10⁻⁹ bp⁻¹ year⁻¹
• recent analyses of de novo mutations in modern humans, some facilitated by developments in genome-sequencing technology, have produced genome-wide estimates of the per-generation mutation rate averaging at ~1.2 × 10⁻⁸ bp⁻¹ generation⁻¹
• similar analyses focusing on mutations in exomes and dominant disease loci have produced an average rate of 1.38 × 10⁻⁸ bp⁻¹ generation⁻¹
• a plausible range of generation times between 20 and 30 years would correspond to a range of mutation rates between 0.4 × 10⁻⁹ and 0.6 × 10⁻⁹ bp⁻¹ year⁻¹

• there has been a decrease in mutation rate per year within the great apes since their divergence from other primates
• evidence has previously been seen for shorter phylogenetic branch lengths within the apes
• this is referred to as the hominoid slowdown