Does mutation rate depend on itself

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that mutation rates are fitness-dependent, broadening our view of the impacts of mutation on the genetic health of populations.

Figure 1. Graph of Mutation Rate (U) against Mutation Load

Plot of U as a function of mutation load, scaled relative to that of the least-loaded genotype (U _MIN = 0). U_i = U _MAX− (U _MAX −U _MIN) W_i ^k. Load = 1 − w_i where w_i is relative fitness of a genotype with i deleterious mutations; w_max = w ₀ = 1. Note: this figure is slightly different from the analogous figure in [10] in which mutation rate is plotted against fitness rather than load.