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Deleterious mutations in animal mitochondrial DNA.

A simple neutral model predicts that the ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous fixed differences between species will be the same as the ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous polymorphisms within species. This prediction is tested with existing mitochondrial datasets from 25 animal species. In slightly over half of the studies, the ratio of replacement to silent polymorphisms within species is significantly greater than the ratio of replacement to silent fixed differences between species. These observations are best explained by a substantial number of mildly deleterious amino acid mutations that contribute to heterozygosity but rarely become fixed.

Animals↗

An adenosine deaminase (ADA) allele contains two newly identified deleterious mutations (Y97C and L106V) that interact to abolish enzyme activity.

Genetic deficiency of the purine salvage enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADA) results in varying degrees of immunodeficiency, ranging from neonatal onset Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) to an adult onset immunodeficiency disorder. Multiple different mutations have now been identified in these immunodeficient patients. Additional mutations, initially identified in healthy individuals, abolish ADA in erythrocytes but retain 10-80% of activity in non-erythroid cells ('partial deficiency mutations'). In general, severity of disease correlates inversely with the amount of residual ADA expressed by the mutant enzymes and directly with the accumulation of the toxic metabolites deoxyATP and deoxyadenosine. We report two newly identified mutations (Y97C and L106V), both carried on the same allele of an immunodeficient patient who was diagnosed prenatally and successfully transplanted with haploidentical bone marrow. Based on the ability of mutant cDNAs to express ADA in vitro , the L106V mutation resulted in activity similar to 'partial' mutations (30% of normal) while the Y97C mutation resulted in detectable but markedly reduced activity (1.5% of normal). However, the presence of both mutations on the same allele virtually abolished detectable enzyme activity. Analysis of the crystallographic structure of ADA to understand the marked deleterious effect of the Y97C mutation suggested a previously unappreciated role of salt bridges in the catalytic mechanism of ADA. The patient was also heteroallelic for a previously described deletion of the promoter and exon 1. Testing of additional patients in whom we had not identified a mutation on the second allele revealed presence of this deletion in three of four patients tested. This deletion is therefore relatively common, accounting for 10% of almost 100 chromosomes studied by this and other laboratories, but is easily missed by currently used methods of mutation detection. Lastly, the finding of two mutations on the same allele that interact to reduce residual enzyme function emphasizes hazards in evaluating potential genotype-phenotype correlations in individuals analyzed only for the presence of single specific mutations.

Adenosine Deaminase↗

Small fitness effects and weak genetic interactions between deleterious mutations in heterozygous loci of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Rare, random mutations were induced in budding yeast by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). Clones known to bear a single non-neutral mutation were used to obtain mutant heterozygotes and mutant homozygotes that were later compared with wild-type homozygotes. The average homozygous effect of mutation was an approximately 2% decrease in the growth rate. In heterozygotes, the harmful effect of these relatively mild mutations was reduced approximately fivefold. In a test of epistasis, two heterozygous mutant loci were paired at random. Fitness of the double mutants was best explained by multiplicative action of effects at single loci, with little evidence for epistasis and essentially excluding synergism. In other experiments, the same mutations in haploid and heterozygous diploid clones were compared. Regardless of the haploid phenotypes, mildly deleterious or lethal, fitness of the heterozygotes was decreased by less than half a per cent on average. In general, the results presented here suggest that most mutations tend to exhibit small and weakly interacting effects in heterozygous loci regardless of how harmful they are in haploids or homozygotes.

Clone Cells↗

Deleterious mutations destabilize ribosomal RNA in endosymbiotic bacteria.

In populations that are small and asexual, mutations with slight negative effects on fitness will drift to fixation more often than in large or sexual populations in which they will be eliminated by selection. If such mutations occur in substantial numbers, the combined effects of long-term asexuality and small population size may result in substantial accumulation of mildly deleterious substitutions. Prokaryotic endosymbionts of animals that are transmitted maternally for very long periods are effectively asexual and experience smaller effective population size than their free-living relatives. The contrast between such endosymbionts and related free-living bacteria allows us to test whether a population structure imposing frequent bottlenecks and asexuality does lead to an accumulation of slightly deleterious substitutions. Here we show that several independently derived insect endosymbionts, each with a long history of maternal transmission, have accumulated destabilizing base substitutions in the highly conserved 16S rRNA. Stabilities of Domain I of this subunit are 15-25% lower in endosymbionts than in closely related free-living bacteria. By mapping destabilizing substitutions onto a reconstructed phylogeny, we show that decreased ribosomal stability has evolved separately in each endosymbiont lineage. Our phylogenetic approach allows us to demonstrate statistical significance for this pattern: becoming endosymbiotic predictably results in decreased stability of rRNA secondary structure.

Animals↗

Alteration of T4 lysozyme structure by second-site reversion of deleterious mutations.

Mutations that suppress the defects introduced into T4 lysozyme by single amino acid substitutions were isolated and characterized. Among 53 primary sites surveyed, 8 yielded second-site revertants; a total of 18 different mutants were obtained. Most of the restorative mutations exerted global effects, generally increasing lysozyme function in a number of primary mutant contexts. Six of them were more specific, suppressing only certain specific deleterious primary substitutions, or diminishing the function of lysozymes bearing otherwise nondeleterious primary substitutions. Some variants of proteins bearing primary substitutions at the positions of Asp 20 and Ala 98 are inferred to have significantly altered structures.

Bacteriophage P22↗

The influence of hitchhiking and deleterious mutation upon asexual mutation rates.

The question of how natural selection affects asexual mutation rates has been considered since the 1930s, yet our understanding continues to deepen. The distribution of mutation rates observed in natural bacteria remains unexplained. It is well known that environmental constancy can favor minimal mutation rates. In contrast, environmental fluctuation (e.g., at period T) can create indirect selective pressure for stronger mutators: genes modifying mutation rate may "hitchhike" to greater frequency along with environmentally favored mutations they produce. This article extends a well-known model of Leigh to consider fitness genes with multiple mutable sites (call the number of such sites alpha). The phenotypic effect of such a gene is enabled if all sites are in a certain state and disabled otherwise. The effects of multiple deleterious loci are also included (call the number of such loci gamma). The analysis calculates the indirect selective effects experienced by a gene inducing various mutation rates for given values of alpha, gamma, and T. Finite-population simulations validate these results and let us examine the interaction of drift with hitchhiking selection. We close by commenting on the importance of other factors, such as spatiotemporal variation, and on the origin of variation in mutation rates.

Models, Genetic↗

Deleterious mutations at the mitochondrial ND3 gene in South American marsh rats (Holochilus).

Statistical analyses of DNA sequences have revealed patterns of nonneutral evolution in mitochondrial DNA of mice, humans, and Drosophila. Here we report patterns of mitochondrial sequence evolution in South American marsh rats (genus Holochilus). We sequenced the complete mitochondrial ND3 gene in 82 Holochilus brasiliensis and 21 H. vulpinus to test the neutral prediction that the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous nucleotide changes is the same within and between species. Within H. brasiliensis we observed a greater number of amino acid polymorphisms than expected based on interspecific comparisons. This contingency table analysis suggests that many amino acid polymorphisms are mildly deleterious. Several tests of the frequency distribution also revealed departures from a neutral, equilibrium model, and these departures were observed for both nonsynonymous and synonymous sites. In general, an excess of rare sites was observed, consistent with either a recent selective sweep or with populations not at mutation-drift equilibrium.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Exclusion of non-synonymous SNPs and a polyglutamine tract in SMRT/N-CoR2 as common deleterious mutation for bipolar disorder in the Sagnenay-Lac-St-Jean population.

Bipolar disorder (BP) is a psychiatric illness with both genetic and environmental components occurring with a prevalence of slightly more than 1%. Our previous linkage and case/control studies have pointed to a susceptibility locus for BP in the 12q24.31 chromosomal region. Here, we investigated the possible involvement of the SMRT/N-CoR2 gene, which encodes for the nuclear receptor co-repressor 2. SMRT/N-CoR2 was retained as a candidate gene for BP because of its location within our candidate gene region and its interactions with thyroid hormone receptors. We screened SMRT/N-CoR2 for the presence of polymorphism/mutation in coding sequences and exon-intron junctions. Four non-synonymous SNPs and a polyglutamine tract (CAG repeat) in the coding exon 14 were analyzed in a case/control sample from the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean (SLSJ) area of Quebec (213 cases and 214 controls). Our data indicated no significant allelic/genotypic association between any of the five mutations and bipolar phenotype when they were considered either individually or as haplotypes. Finally, the CAG repeat observed in SMRT/N-CoR2 did not demonstrate allelic instability and consequently it is unlikely that this polymorphism could be involved in the anticipation phenomenon reported for BP.

Alleles↗

Human caspase 12 has acquired deleterious mutations.

Caspase 12 has been cloned from rodent cells, in which it mediated apoptosis in response to endoplasmic reticulum stress. Based on experiments with murine cells it was suggested that this caspase plays a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. By alignment of the murine caspase 12 cDNA with the human genome sequence we localized the human caspase 12 gene at a single locus within the caspase 1/ICE gene cluster on chromosome 11q22.3. RT-PCR and molecular cloning revealed that nine alternatively spliced transcripts of this gene are expressed. A frame shift mutation and a premature stop codon which is present in all splice variants preclude the expression of a full length protein. An additional loss-of-function mutation within the SHG box, a critical site in caspases, prohibits any proteins, if they are produced, from acting catalytically. Based on our data we conclude that functional caspase 12 is lost in humans and that it can therefore not play a role in Alzheimer's disease.

Alternative Splicing↗