Unravelling the determinants of protein evolution and adaptation at the molecular level

The frequency and nature of adaptive mutations are widely variable across species. However, what determines such variation is not fully understood. Several studies have reported that the molecular adaptive rate also varies substantially within genomes, providing evidence for the key role of variables such as recombination, mutation rate, and gene function. More recently, we showed that this rate not only varies between genes but also at the intra-genic level, with protein structure acting as a major determinant of adaptive evolution. This effect, however, varied in strength between species, suggesting that the variation within genes may help explain interspecies patterns of adaptation. Here, I will talk about how we used a comparative population genomics approach across species, genes, and sites to shed light on the molecular basis of adaptation at multiple levels.