Epistasis refers to the influence of one genomic mutation or variant on the phenotypic effects of another mutation or variant. Based on available evidence and theory, this phenomenon has a major influence on evolutionary trajectories for organisms of all...
The new tools for determining nucleotide sequences for whole genomes can sometimes present a problem of data analysis: How can mutations that influence important phenotypes be distinguished from mutations that may be of minimal or no impact on fitness, so-called...
In the May 26 (2011) issue of Nature, Vijaykrishna et al. address patterns of evolution and transmission exhibited by swine influenza A viruses (SwIV) isolated from pigs beings slaughtered in Hong Kong between May 1998 and January 2010. Although the focus of the...
Among human pathogens, Streptococcus pneumoniae holds an especially prominent place in the history of biomedical investigation. Griffith (1928) described the transforming principle, a soluble substance released by dead, virulent pneumococci that could render...