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de Jong MJ, van Oosterhout C, Hoelzel AR, Janke A. Moderating the neutralist-selectionist debate: exactly which propositions are we debating, and which arguments are valid? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:23-55. [PMID: 37621151 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Half a century after its foundation, the neutral theory of molecular evolution continues to attract controversy. The debate has been hampered by the coexistence of different interpretations of the core proposition of the neutral theory, the 'neutral mutation-random drift' hypothesis. In this review, we trace the origins of these ambiguities and suggest potential solutions. We highlight the difference between the original, the revised and the nearly neutral hypothesis, and re-emphasise that none of them equates to the null hypothesis of strict neutrality. We distinguish the neutral hypothesis of protein evolution, the main focus of the ongoing debate, from the neutral hypotheses of genomic and functional DNA evolution, which for many species are generally accepted. We advocate a further distinction between a narrow and an extended neutral hypothesis (of which the latter posits that random non-conservative amino acid substitutions can cause non-ecological phenotypic divergence), and we discuss the implications for evolutionary biology beyond the domain of molecular evolution. We furthermore point out that the debate has widened from its initial focus on point mutations, and also concerns the fitness effects of large-scale mutations, which can alter the dosage of genes and regulatory sequences. We evaluate the validity of neutralist and selectionist arguments and find that the tested predictions, apart from being sensitive to violation of underlying assumptions, are often derived from the null hypothesis of strict neutrality, or equally consistent with the opposing selectionist hypothesis, except when assuming molecular panselectionism. Our review aims to facilitate a constructive neutralist-selectionist debate, and thereby to contribute to answering a key question of evolutionary biology: what proportions of amino acid and nucleotide substitutions and polymorphisms are adaptive?
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Affiliation(s)
- Menno J de Jong
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Institute (SBiK-F), Georg-Voigt-Strasse 14-16, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
| | - Cock van Oosterhout
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - A Rus Hoelzel
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Axel Janke
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Institute (SBiK-F), Georg-Voigt-Strasse 14-16, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
- Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, Frankfurt am Main, 60438, Germany
- LOEWE-Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG), Senckenberg Nature Research Society, Georg-Voigt-Straße 14-16, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
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Qiu MZ, Chen Q, Zheng DY, Zhao Q, Wu QN, Zhou ZW, Yang LQ, Luo QY, Sun YT, Lai MY, Yuan SS, Wang FH, Luo HY, Wang F, Li YH, Zhang HZ, Xu RH. Precise microdissection of gastric mixed adeno-neuroendocrine carcinoma dissects its genomic landscape and evolutionary clonal origins. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112576. [PMID: 37285266 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Gastric mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma (MANEC) is a clinically aggressive and heterogeneous tumor composed of adenocarcinoma (ACA) and neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC). The genomic properties and evolutionary clonal origins of MANEC remain unclear. We conduct whole-exome and multiregional sequencing on 101 samples from 33 patients to elucidate their evolutionary paths. We identify four significantly mutated genes, TP53, RB1, APC, and CTNNB1. MANEC resembles chromosomal instability stomach adenocarcinoma in that whole-genome doubling in MANEC is predominant and occurs earlier than most copy-number losses. All tumors are of monoclonal origin, and NEC components show more aggressive genomic properties than their ACA counterparts. The phylogenetic trees show two tumor divergence patterns, including sequential and parallel divergence. Furthermore, ACA-to-NEC rather than NEC-to-ACA transition is confirmed by immunohistochemistry on 6 biomarkers in ACA- and NEC-dominant regions. These results provide insights into the clonal origin and tumor differentiation of MANEC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miao-Zhen Qiu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Qingjian Chen
- Department of Basic Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China; State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Department of Oncology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, P.R. China
| | - Dan-Yang Zheng
- Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China; Department of Clinical Oncology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Qi Zhao
- Department of Basic Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Qi-Nian Wu
- Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Zhi-Wei Zhou
- Department of Gastric Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Li-Qiong Yang
- Department of Basic Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Qiu-Yun Luo
- Department of Basic Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Yu-Ting Sun
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Ming-Yu Lai
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Sha-Sha Yuan
- Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Feng-Hua Wang
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Hui-Yan Luo
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Feng Wang
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Yu-Hong Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Hui-Zhong Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China
| | - Rui-Hua Xu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China; Research Unit of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Gastrointestinal Cancer, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China.
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Chen Q, Yang H, Feng X, Chen Q, Shi S, Wu CI, He Z. Two decades of suspect evidence for adaptive molecular evolution – Negative selection confounding positive selection signals. Natl Sci Rev 2021; 9:nwab217. [PMID: 35663241 PMCID: PMC9154339 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwab217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
There has been a large literature in the last two decades affirming adaptive DNA sequence evolution between species. The main lines of evidence are from (i) the McDonald-Kreitman (MK) test, which compares divergence and polymorphism data, and (ii) the phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood (PAML) test, which analyzes multispecies divergence data. Here, we apply these two tests concurrently to genomic data of Drosophila and Arabidopsis. To our surprise, the >100 genes identified by the two tests do not overlap beyond random expectation. Because the non-concordance could be due to low powers leading to high false negatives, we merge every 20–30 genes into a ‘supergene’. At the supergene level, the power of detection is large but the calls still do not overlap. We rule out methodological reasons for the non-concordance. In particular, extensive simulations fail to find scenarios whereby positive selection can only be detected by either MK or PAML, but not both. Since molecular evolution is governed by positive and negative selection concurrently, a fundamental assumption for estimating one of these (say, positive selection) is that the other is constant. However, in a broad survey of primates, birds, Drosophila and Arabidopsis, we found that negative selection rarely stays constant for long in evolution. As a consequence, the variation in negative selection is often misconstrued as a signal of positive selection. In conclusion, MK, PAML and any method that examines genomic sequence evolution has to explicitly address the variation in negative selection before estimating positive selection. In a companion study, we propose a possible path forward in two stages—first, by mapping out the changes in negative selection and then using this map to estimate positive selection. For now, the large literature on positive selection between species has to await reassessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qipian Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiao Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingjian Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Suhua Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chung-I Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ziwen He
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Lab of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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He Z, Xu S, Zhang Z, Guo W, Lyu H, Zhong C, Boufford DE, Duke NC, Shi S. Convergent adaptation of the genomes of woody plants at the land-sea interface. Natl Sci Rev 2020; 7:978-993. [PMID: 34692119 PMCID: PMC8289059 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Sequencing multiple species that share the same ecological niche may be a new frontier for genomic studies. While such studies should shed light on molecular convergence, genomic-level analyses have been unsuccessful, due mainly to the absence of empirical controls. Woody plant species that colonized the global tropical coasts, collectively referred to as mangroves, are ideal for convergence studies. Here, we sequenced the genomes/transcriptomes of 16 species belonging in three major mangrove clades. To detect convergence in a large phylogeny, a CCS+ model is implemented, extending the more limited CCS method (convergence at conservative sites). Using the empirical control for reference, the CCS+ model reduces the noises drastically, thus permitting the identification of 73 convergent genes with P true (probability of true convergence) > 0.9. Products of the convergent genes tend to be on the plasma membrane associated with salinity tolerance. Importantly, convergence is more often manifested at a higher level than at amino-acid (AA) sites. Relative to >50 plant species, mangroves strongly prefer 4 AAs and avoid 5 others across the genome. AA substitutions between mangrove species strongly reflect these tendencies. In conclusion, the selection of taxa, the number of species and, in particular, the empirical control are all crucial for detecting genome-wide convergence. We believe this large study of mangroves is the first successful attempt at detecting genome-wide site convergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziwen He
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Shaohua Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Zhang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Wuxia Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Haomin Lyu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Cairong Zhong
- Hainan Dongzhai Harbor National Nature Reserve Administration, Haikou 571129, China
| | | | - Norman C Duke
- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | | | - Suhua Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
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Chen B, Shi Z, Chen Q, Shen X, Shibata D, Wen H, Wu CI. Tumorigenesis as the Paradigm of Quasi-neutral Molecular Evolution. Mol Biol Evol 2020; 36:1430-1441. [PMID: 30912799 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msz075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In the absence of both positive and negative selections, coding sequences evolve at a neutral rate (R = 1). Such a high genomic rate is generally not achievable due to the prevalence of negative selection against codon substitutions. Remarkably, somatic evolution exhibits the seemingly neutral rate R ∼ 1 across normal and cancerous tissues. Nevertheless, R ∼ 1 may also mean that positive and negative selections are both strong, but equal in intensity. We refer to this regime as quasi-neutral. Indeed, individual genes in cancer cells often evolve at a much higher, or lower, rate than R ∼ 1. Here, we show that 1) quasi-neutrality is much more likely when populations are small (N < 50); 2) stem-cell populations in single normal tissue niches, from which tumors likely emerge, have a small N (usually <50) but selection at this stage is measurable and strong; 3) when N dips below 50, selection efficacy decreases precipitously; and 4) notably, N is smaller in the stem-cell niche of the small intestine than in the colon. Hence, the ∼70-fold higher rate of phenotypic evolution (observed as cancer risk) in the latter can be explained by the greater efficacy of selection, which then leads to the fixation of more advantageous and fewer deleterious mutations in colon cancers. In conclusion, quasi-neutral evolution sheds a new light on a general evolutionary principle that helps to explain aspects of cancer evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingjie Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zongkun Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingjian Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xu Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Darryl Shibata
- Department of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Haijun Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chung-I Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Genomic and Precision Medicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
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Zou Z, Zhang J. Amino acid exchangeabilities vary across the tree of life. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaax3124. [PMID: 31840062 PMCID: PMC6892623 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax3124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Different amino acid pairs have drastically different relative exchangeabilities (REs), and accounting for this variation is an important and common practice in inferring phylogenies, testing selection, and predicting mutational effects, among other analyses. In all such endeavors, REs have been generally considered invariant among species; this assumption, however, has not been scrutinized. Using maximum likelihood to analyze 180 genome sequences, we estimated REs from 90 clades representing all three domains of life, and found numerous instances of substantial between-clade differences in REs. REs show more differences between orthologous proteins of different clades than unrelated proteins of the same clade, suggesting that REs are genome-wide, clade-specific features, probably a result of proteome-wide evolutionary changes in the physicochemical environments of amino acid residues. The discovery of among-clade RE variations cautions against assuming constant REs in various analyses and demonstrates a higher-than-expected complexity in mechanisms of proteome evolution.
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