RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Predicting the genetic loci of past evolution
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 205153
DO 10.1101/205153
A1 Courtier-Orgogozo, Virginie
A1 Martin, Arnaud
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/10/19/205153.abstract
AB Repetitions in the mutations found to be responsible for independent evolution of similar phenotypes in various taxa have led some biologists to propose that for certain evolutionary changes the causal mutations are predictable. We examine here the nature of the predictions that have been made and their associated arguments. Predictions about the loci of past evolution are retrodictions, i.e. inferences about events that occurred in the past. They are not based on elaborate models and they derive mainly from the observation of repeated cases of genetic evolution. Predictions at the nucleotide level or at the gene level have a higher inference gain than those for broader categories of genetic changes such as cis-regulatory mutations.