Cathepsin B protease mediates high population density-induced mutagenesis to drive genome evolution and competitive growth
Ding Xue
Nature Communications, Published online: 04 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72521-6 Density-dependent population regulation is widespread in animals. Here, the authors identify cathepsin B cysteine protease as a crowd-responding factor that induces increased genome mutagenesis, leading competitive growth in response to overpopulation.