Gene-level complexity explains genome-wide variation in the distribution of fitness effects.

Gene-level complexity, measured by genomic features, explains variation in the distribution of fitness effects across genomes of multiple species.

• Why it matters: Understanding what drives differences in the fitness effects of mutations is crucial for grasping how populations evolve, yet the genomic factors influencing this variation remain unclear.
• What they did: The study used population genetics and machine learning to analyze gene features such as conservation, structure, and expression in M. musculus, D. melanogaster, and S. cerevisiae, identifying their predictive power for selective constraints and DFE.
• The result: Findings show that gene features reveal distinct gene classes with different DFEs, and that gene-level complexity better explains DFE variation than organism-level complexity, informing models of molecular evolution.