Bias in de novo germline mutation rates

Background: A crucial aspect of evolution and a key component of the creativity displayed by the evolutionary process lies in the so called de novo, or spontaneous, mutations. These are new random mutations that usually originate in the germlines and sporadically appear in an individual of a population. Depending on whether this mutation confers an evolutionary advantage or dis-advantage, it will spread or not in the population. When disadvantageous, these mutation can also cause diseases. Biases in the novo mutation rates may have far reaching implications for dynamics of the evolutionary process and the health of a population.

Goal: The goal of this project is to identify the presence of biases affecting de novo germline mutations. In other words, the students will try to identify what are the factors influencing the probability of spontaneous mutations. We will focus on single nucleotide mutations.

Mathematical tools: Statistics, linear regression, mixed models

Biological aspects: The biology of germline mutations and their consequence in terms of population genetics.

Supervisor: Micha

Le rapport: File:Bias in de novo germline mutation rates.pdf