Project description:
Microsatellites are repetitive nucleotide sequences consisting of 1-6 bp, and they are frequently scattered throughout most genomes. Compared to other types of DNA, the microsatellite DNA mutate rather frequently. Most microsatellite mutations are supposed to involve a gain or loss of a repetitive unit. The high mutagenesis frequency makes natural mutation events detectable when performing sequence analysis of parent-offspring material. The rate of how microsatellites changes at a macro evolutionary perspective, can be determined by sequence analysis of specific microsatellites in related species. Such a detailed characterising of mutation events, both focusing type, frequency and effect, is important to improve the understanding of the microsatellite evolution.
Publications:
Anmarkrud JA, Kleven O, Augustin J, Bentz KH, Blomquist D, Fernie KJ, Magrath MJL, Pärn H, Quinn JS, Robertson RJ, Szép T, Tarof S, Wagner RH & Lifjeld JT. Factors affecting germline mutations in a hypervariable microsatellite: a comparative analysis of six species of swallows (Aves: Hirundinidae). Mutation Research - Fundamental and Molecular Mechanism of Mutagenesis (accepted).
Anmarkrud JA, Kleven O, Bachmann L, Lifjeld JT. 2008. Microsatellite evolution: Mutations, sequence variation, and homoplasy in the hypervariable avian microsatellite locus HrU10. BMC Evolutionary Biology 8: 138. (Abstract)