Evolutionary rate is faster in RNA viruses compared to DNA viruses by

Range 2-3 orders of magnitude faster in RNA viruses compared to DNA viruses
Organism Virus
Reference Brandes N, Linial M. Gene overlapping and size constraints in the viral world. Biol Direct. 2016 May 21 11: 26. doi: 10.1186/s13062-016-0128-3. p.1 left columnPubMed ID27209091
Primary Source [5] Holland J, Spindler K, Horodyski F, Grabau E, Nichol S, VandePol S. Rapid evolution of RNA genomes. Science. 1982 215(4540):1577–85.PubMed ID7041255
Comments P.1 left column: "Viruses are the simplest biological replicating units and the most abundant ‘biological entities’ known. A great diversity is evident in their physical properties, genome size, gene contents, replication mode and infectivity. Some of the most significant properties of viruses are their small physical size and an exceptional amount of overlapping genes (OGs) relative to their genome length [refs 1, 2]. Most viruses have a high evolutionary rate compared to other organisms [refs 3, 4], with that of RNA viruses 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than DNA viruses [primary source]. The high mutation rate of RNA viruses is mostly due to the absence of a proof reading mechanism in their replicating enzymes (i.e., RNA polymerase) [ref 6]."
Entered by Uri M
ID 113163