The evolution of genetic covariance and modularity as a result of multigenerational environmental fluctuation.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_2F9325322FE7
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
The evolution of genetic covariance and modularity as a result of multigenerational environmental fluctuation.
Journal
Evolution letters
Author(s)
do O I., Whitlock M.C.
ISSN
2056-3744 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
2056-3744
Publication state
Published
Issued date
12/2023
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
7
Number
6
Pages
457-466
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: epublish
Abstract
The genetic covariance between traits can affect the evolution of a population through selection, drift, and migration. Conversely, research has demonstrated the reciprocal effect of evolutionary processes on changing genetic covariances, in part through mutational covariance, correlational selection, and plasticity. In this article, we propose that correlated changes in selective optima over generations can cause the evolution of genetic covariance and the G-matrix in such a way that the population can, in the future, evolve faster. We use individual-based simulations of populations exposed to three types of changing environments that differ in the correlation of the change between selective pressures. Our simulation experiments demonstrate that selection pressures for different traits changing in a correlated pattern over generations can lead to stronger trait correlations compared to the case with independently changing selective optima. Our findings show that correlated selective pressures result in significantly higher genetic trait covariance and that pleiotropy accounts for the majority of the difference in covariance between treatments. We also observe that the mutational variance evolves according to the environment that the populations were exposed to. Moreover, we show that clustered patterns of changes in selection can allow the evolution of genetic modularity. We show that the pattern of change in the selective environment affects the pace at which fitness evolves, with populations experiencing correlated change in optima having on average higher mean fitness than those experiencing uncorrelated environment change.
Keywords
G-matrix, changing environments, genetic covariance, modularity, pleiotropy
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
07/12/2023 16:45
Last modification date
19/12/2023 8:15
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