Britten R J
Science. 1986 Mar 21;231(4744):1393-8. doi: 10.1126/science.3082006.
The mutation rates of DNA sequences during evolution can be estimated from interspecies DNA sequence differences by assaying changes that have little or no effect on the phenotype (neutral mutations). Examination of available measurements shows that rates of DNA change of different phylogenetic groups differ by a factor of 5. The slowest rates are observed for higher primates and some bird lineages, while faster rates are seen in rodents, sea urchins, and drosophila. The rate of DNA sequence change has decreased markedly during primate evolution. The contrast in rates of DNA sequence change is probably due to evolutionary variation and selection of biochemical mechanisms such as DNA replication or repair.
在进化过程中，DNA序列的突变率可以通过测定对表型影响很小或没有影响的变化（中性突变），从种间DNA序列差异来估计。对现有测量数据的检查表明，不同系统发育群体的DNA变化率相差5倍。在高等灵长类动物和一些鸟类谱系中观察到最慢的变化率，而在啮齿动物、海胆和果蝇中则观察到较快的变化率。在灵长类动物的进化过程中，DNA序列变化率显著下降。DNA序列变化率的差异可能是由于进化变异以及对DNA复制或修复等生化机制的选择。
