Mutation bias in evolution: climbing Mount Probable (Ep 97)

<p>What is mutation bias? How does it affect evolution?</p> <p>In this episode, we talk with <a href="https://www.ibbr.umd.edu/profiles/arlin-stoltzfus" target="_blank"><u>Arlin Stoltzfus</u></a>, a research fellow at the University of Maryland’s <a href="https://www.ibbr.umd.edu/home" target="_blank"><u>Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research</u></a>. Arlin studies mutation bias – the idea that some types of mutations occur more often than others – and how these patterns can influence the evolutionary trajectories of populations. In the chat, we contrast this mutation-centric approach to evolution with more standard views in which selection does most of the creative heavy lifting. We center the talk around Arlin’s <a href="https://bigbiologypodcast.tumblr.com/post/710070613031763968/mutation-randomness-and-evolution-by-arlin" target="_blank"><u>2021 book - </u><u><em>Mutation, Randomness, and Evolution</em></u></a>, which offers a new conception of variation as a difference-maker in evolution. Looking forward, Arlin argues that a better understanding of mutation will make it easier to predict the origins and outcomes of different cancers and the evolution of infectious diseases and crop pests.</p> <p>Cover art by Keating Shahmehri</p>