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<b>Abstract</b>— <p>One of the key concepts in modern biology is metabolic theory, which links energy flows with genetic processes and evolutionary rates. Its key proposition, that metabolic rate determines mutation rate and evolutionary rate, remains largely intuitive. A solution to this problem is possible by switching to relative estimates. A promising approach is a comparative analysis of the transition-transversion bias of taxonomic groups with different metabolic rates. This is reflected in parameters such as body size, maturation rate, and fertility. The aim of this study is to establish a link between the scale of transition-transversion bias, paleontological age, average body size, life cycle period, and fecundity in placental mammals at the family level. There is a significant positive correlation between the magnitude of transition-transversion bias at the species and genus levels of divergence, paleontological age, body size, maturation rate, and lifespan, while a negative correlation exists with litter size. This pattern of correlations suggests that families with higher metabolic rates have higher rates of accumulation of transversion frequencies, indicating a higher level of mutational processes. The directionality of these correlations allows us to conceptualize placental mammals as a bipolar system, with families of different paleontological ages, alternative biological parameters, and distinct nucleotide substitution patterns at the poles. The study provides clear evidence for the validity of a key proposition of metabolic theory and justification for the “evolutionary rate ambiguity hypothesis”. The study’s results complement the theory of <i>r</i>/<i>K</i> strategies, indicating that <i>r</i>-strategists are more metabolically active and have higher mutation rates.</p>

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Relationship of Mutation Rates with Paleontological Age, Body Size, Generation Time, and Fecundity in Mammals Established by Transitive-Transversive Analysis

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月31日

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  • S. V. Mezhzherin,
  • S. Yu. Morozov-Leonov,
  • S. Ye. Holodryga

摘要

Abstract—

One of the key concepts in modern biology is metabolic theory, which links energy flows with genetic processes and evolutionary rates. Its key proposition, that metabolic rate determines mutation rate and evolutionary rate, remains largely intuitive. A solution to this problem is possible by switching to relative estimates. A promising approach is a comparative analysis of the transition-transversion bias of taxonomic groups with different metabolic rates. This is reflected in parameters such as body size, maturation rate, and fertility. The aim of this study is to establish a link between the scale of transition-transversion bias, paleontological age, average body size, life cycle period, and fecundity in placental mammals at the family level. There is a significant positive correlation between the magnitude of transition-transversion bias at the species and genus levels of divergence, paleontological age, body size, maturation rate, and lifespan, while a negative correlation exists with litter size. This pattern of correlations suggests that families with higher metabolic rates have higher rates of accumulation of transversion frequencies, indicating a higher level of mutational processes. The directionality of these correlations allows us to conceptualize placental mammals as a bipolar system, with families of different paleontological ages, alternative biological parameters, and distinct nucleotide substitution patterns at the poles. The study provides clear evidence for the validity of a key proposition of metabolic theory and justification for the “evolutionary rate ambiguity hypothesis”. The study’s results complement the theory of r/K strategies, indicating that r-strategists are more metabolically active and have higher mutation rates.