1
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Raas MWD, Dutheil JY. The rate of adaptive molecular evolution in wild and domesticated Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations. Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e16980. [PMID: 37157166 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Through its fermentative capacities, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was central in the development of civilisation during the Neolithic period, and the yeast remains of importance in industry and biotechnology, giving rise to bona fide domesticated populations. Here, we conduct a population genomic study of domesticated and wild populations of S. cerevisiae. Using coalescent analyses, we report that the effective population size of yeast populations decreased since the divergence with S. paradoxus. We fitted models of distributions of fitness effects to infer the rate of adaptive (ω a ) and non-adaptive (ω na ) non-synonymous substitutions in protein-coding genes. We report an overall limited contribution of positive selection to S. cerevisiae protein evolution, albeit with higher rates of adaptive evolution in wild compared to domesticated populations. Our analyses revealed the signature of background selection and possibly Hill-Robertson interference, as recombination was found to be negatively correlated withω na and positively correlated withω a . However, the effect of recombination onω a was found to be labile, as it is only apparent after removing the impact of codon usage bias on the synonymous site frequency spectrum and disappears if we control for the correlation withω na , suggesting that it could be an artefact of the decreasing population size. Furthermore, the rate of adaptive non-synonymous substitutions is significantly correlated with the residue solvent exposure, a relation that cannot be explained by the population's demography. Together, our results provide a detailed characterisation of adaptive mutations in protein-coding genes across S. cerevisiae populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian W D Raas
- Research Group Molecular Systems Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Julien Y Dutheil
- Research Group Molecular Systems Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
- Unité Mixte de Recherche 5554 Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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2
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Murga-Moreno J, Casillas S, Barbadilla A, Uricchio L, Enard D. An efficient and robust ABC approach to infer the rate and strength of adaptation. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae031. [PMID: 38365205 PMCID: PMC11090462 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Inferring the effects of positive selection on genomes remains a critical step in characterizing the ultimate and proximate causes of adaptation across species, and quantifying positive selection remains a challenge due to the confounding effects of many other evolutionary processes. Robust and efficient approaches for adaptation inference could help characterize the rate and strength of adaptation in nonmodel species for which demographic history, mutational processes, and recombination patterns are not currently well-described. Here, we introduce an efficient and user-friendly extension of the McDonald-Kreitman test (ABC-MK) for quantifying long-term protein adaptation in specific lineages of interest. We characterize the performance of our approach with forward simulations and find that it is robust to many demographic perturbations and positive selection configurations, demonstrating its suitability for applications to nonmodel genomes. We apply ABC-MK to the human proteome and a set of known virus interacting proteins (VIPs) to test the long-term adaptation in genes interacting with viruses. We find substantially stronger signatures of positive selection on RNA-VIPs than DNA-VIPs, suggesting that RNA viruses may be an important driver of human adaptation over deep evolutionary time scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Murga-Moreno
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - Sònia Casillas
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | - Antonio Barbadilla
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | | | - David Enard
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
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3
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Galtier N. Half a Century of Controversy: The Neutralist/Selectionist Debate in Molecular Evolution. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae003. [PMID: 38311843 PMCID: PMC10839204 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae003] [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] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The neutral and nearly neutral theories, introduced more than 50 yr ago, have raised and still raise passionate discussion regarding the forces governing molecular evolution and their relative importance. The debate, initially focused on the amount of within-species polymorphism and constancy of the substitution rate, has spread, matured, and now underlies a wide range of topics and questions. The neutralist/selectionist controversy has structured the field and influences the way molecular evolutionary scientists conceive their research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Galtier
- ISEM, CNRS, IRD, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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4
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Sonoda GG, Tobaruela EDC, Norenburg J, Fabi JP, Andrade SCS. Venomous Noodles: The Evolution of Toxins in Nemertea through Positive Selection and Gene Duplication. Toxins (Basel) 2023; 15:650. [PMID: 37999513 PMCID: PMC10674772 DOI: 10.3390/toxins15110650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Some, probably most and perhaps all, members of the phylum Nemertea are poisonous, documented so far from marine and benthic specimens. Although the toxicity of these animals has been long known, systematic studies on the characterization of toxins, mechanisms of toxicity, and toxin evolution for this group are scarce. Here, we present the first investigation of the molecular evolution of toxins in Nemertea. Using a proteo-transcriptomic approach, we described toxins in the body and poisonous mucus of the pilidiophoran Lineus sanguineus and the hoplonemertean Nemertopsis pamelaroeae. Using these new and publicly available transcriptomes, we investigated the molecular evolution of six selected toxin gene families. In addition, we also characterized in silico the toxin genes found in the interstitial hoplonemertean, Ototyphlonemertes erneba, a meiofaunal taxa. We successfully identified over 200 toxin transcripts in each of these species. Evidence of positive selection and gene duplication was observed in all investigated toxin genes. We hypothesized that the increased rates of gene duplications observed for Pilidiophora could be involved with the expansion of toxin genes. Studies concerning the natural history of Nemertea are still needed to understand the evolution of their toxins. Nevertheless, our results show evolutionary mechanisms similar to other venomous groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Gonzalez Sonoda
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, IB-Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-090, Brazil;
- Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05503-900, Brazil
| | - Eric de Castro Tobaruela
- Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Food Research Center (FoRC), Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-080, Brazil; (E.d.C.T.); (J.P.F.)
| | | | - João Paulo Fabi
- Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Food Research Center (FoRC), Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-080, Brazil; (E.d.C.T.); (J.P.F.)
| | - Sónia C. S. Andrade
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, IB-Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-090, Brazil;
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5
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Choquet M, Lenner F, Cocco A, Toullec G, Corre E, Toullec JY, Wallberg A. Comparative Population Transcriptomics Provide New Insight into the Evolutionary History and Adaptive Potential of World Ocean Krill. Mol Biol Evol 2023; 40:msad225. [PMID: 37816123 PMCID: PMC10642690 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad225] [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: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic variation is instrumental for adaptation to changing environments but it is unclear how it is structured and contributes to adaptation in pelagic species lacking clear barriers to gene flow. Here, we applied comparative genomics to extensive transcriptome datasets from 20 krill species collected across the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans. We compared genetic variation both within and between species to elucidate their evolutionary history and genomic bases of adaptation. We resolved phylogenetic interrelationships and uncovered genomic evidence to elevate the cryptic Euphausia similis var. armata into species. Levels of genetic variation and rates of adaptive protein evolution vary widely. Species endemic to the cold Southern Ocean, such as the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba, showed less genetic variation and lower evolutionary rates than other species. This could suggest a low adaptive potential to rapid climate change. We uncovered hundreds of candidate genes with signatures of adaptive evolution among Antarctic Euphausia but did not observe strong evidence of adaptive convergence with the predominantly Arctic Thysanoessa. We instead identified candidates for cold-adaptation that have also been detected in Antarctic fish, including genes that govern thermal reception such as TrpA1. Our results suggest parallel genetic responses to similar selection pressures across Antarctic taxa and provide new insights into the adaptive potential of important zooplankton already affected by climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marvin Choquet
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Felix Lenner
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Arianna Cocco
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gaëlle Toullec
- Laboratory for Biological Geochemistry, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Erwan Corre
- CNRS, Sorbonne Université, FR 2424, ABiMS Platform, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff, France
| | - Jean-Yves Toullec
- CNRS, UMR 7144, AD2M, Sorbonne Université, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff, France
| | - Andreas Wallberg
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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6
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Horton JS, Taylor TB. Mutation bias and adaptation in bacteria. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2023; 169. [PMID: 37943288 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Genetic mutation, which provides the raw material for evolutionary adaptation, is largely a stochastic force. However, there is ample evidence showing that mutations can also exhibit strong biases, with some mutation types and certain genomic positions mutating more often than others. It is becoming increasingly clear that mutational bias can play a role in determining adaptive outcomes in bacteria in both the laboratory and the clinic. As such, understanding the causes and consequences of mutation bias can help microbiologists to anticipate and predict adaptive outcomes. In this review, we provide an overview of the mechanisms and features of the bacterial genome that cause mutational biases to occur. We then describe the environmental triggers that drive these mechanisms to be more potent and outline the adaptive scenarios where mutation bias can synergize with natural selection to define evolutionary outcomes. We conclude by describing how understanding mutagenic genomic features can help microbiologists predict areas sensitive to mutational bias, and finish by outlining future work that will help us achieve more accurate evolutionary forecasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- James S Horton
- Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Tiffany B Taylor
- Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
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7
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Murga-Moreno J, Casillas S, Barbadilla A, Uricchio L, Enard D. An efficient and robust ABC approach to infer the rate and strength of adaptation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.29.555322. [PMID: 37693550 PMCID: PMC10491248 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.29.555322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Inferring the effects of positive selection on genomes remains a critical step in characterizing the ultimate and proximate causes of adaptation across species, and quantifying positive selection remains a challenge due to the confounding effects of many other evolutionary processes. Robust and efficient approaches for adaptation inference could help characterize the rate and strength of adaptation in non-model species for which demographic history, mutational processes, and recombination patterns are not currently well-described. Here, we introduce an efficient and user-friendly extension of the McDonald-Kreitman test (ABC-MK) for quantifying long-term protein adaptation in specific lineages of interest. We characterize the performance of our approach with forward simulations and find that it is robust to many demographic perturbations and positive selection configurations, demonstrating its suitability for applications to non-model genomes. We apply ABC-MK to the human proteome and a set of known Virus Interacting Proteins (VIPs) to test the long-term adaptation in genes interacting with viruses. We find substantially stronger signatures of positive selection on RNA-VIPs than DNA-VIPs, suggesting that RNA viruses may be an important driver of human adaptation over deep evolutionary time scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Murga-Moreno
- University of Arizona Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tucson, USA
| | - Sònia Casillas
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | - Antonio Barbadilla
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | | | - David Enard
- University of Arizona Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tucson, USA
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8
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Rougemont Q, Leroy T, Rondeau EB, Koop B, Bernatchez L. Allele surfing causes maladaptation in a Pacific salmon of conservation concern. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010918. [PMID: 37683018 PMCID: PMC10545117 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
How various factors, including demography, recombination or genome duplication, may impact the efficacy of natural selection and the burden of deleterious mutations, is a central question in evolutionary biology and genetics. In this study, we show that key evolutionary processes, including variations in i) effective population size (Ne) ii) recombination rates and iii) chromosome inheritance, have influenced the genetic load and efficacy of selection in Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), a widely distributed salmonid species on the west coast of North America. Using whole genome resequencing data from 14 populations at different migratory distances from their southern glacial refugium, we found evidence supporting gene surfing, wherein reduced Ne at the postglacial recolonization front, leads to a decrease in the efficacy of selection and a surf of deleterious alleles in the northernmost populations. Furthermore, our results indicate that recombination rates play a prime role in shaping the load along the genome. Additionally, we identified variation in polyploidy as a contributing factor to within-genome variation of the load. Overall, our results align remarkably well with expectations under the nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution. We discuss the fundamental and applied implications of these findings for evolutionary and conservation genomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Rougemont
- Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Thibault Leroy
- GenPhySE, INRAE, INP, ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Auzeville- Tolosane, France
| | - Eric B. Rondeau
- Department of Fisheries and Ocean, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, Canada
| | - Ben Koop
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
| | - Louis Bernatchez
- Département de Biologie, Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, Canada
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9
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Herrick J. Kimura's Theory of Non-Adaptive Radiation and Peto's Paradox: A Missing Link? BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1140. [PMID: 37627024 PMCID: PMC10452704 DOI: 10.3390/biology12081140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Karyotype diversity reflects genome integrity and stability. A strong correlation between karyotype diversity and species richness, meaning the number of species in a phylogenetic clade, was first reported in mammals over forty years ago: in mammalian phylogenetic clades, the standard deviation of karyotype diversity (KD) closely corresponded to species richness (SR) at the order level. These initial studies, however, did not control for phylogenetic signal, raising the possibility that the correlation was due to phylogenetic relatedness among species in a clade. Accordingly, karyotype diversity trivially reflects species richness simply as a passive consequence of adaptive radiation. A more recent study in mammals controlled for phylogenetic signals and established the correlation as phylogenetically independent, suggesting that species richness cannot, in itself, explain the observed corresponding karyotype diversity. The correlation is, therefore, remarkable because the molecular mechanisms contributing to karyotype diversity are evolutionarily independent of the ecological mechanisms contributing to species richness. Recently, it was shown in salamanders that the two processes generating genome size diversity and species richness were indeed independent and operate in parallel, suggesting a potential non-adaptive, non-causal but biologically meaningful relationship. KD depends on mutational input generating genetic diversity and reflects genome stability, whereas species richness depends on ecological factors and reflects natural selection acting on phenotypic diversity. As mutation and selection operate independently and involve separate and unrelated evolutionary mechanisms-there is no reason a priori to expect such a strong, let alone any, correlation between KD and SR. That such a correlation exists is more consistent with Kimura's theory of non-adaptive radiation than with ecologically based adaptive theories of macro-evolution, which are not excluded in Kimura's non-adaptive theory. The following reviews recent evidence in support of Kimura's proposal, and other findings that contribute to a wider understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the process of non-adaptive radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Herrick
- Independent Researcher, 3, rue des Jeûneurs, 75002 Paris, France
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10
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Aagaard A, Liu S, Tregenza T, Braad Lund M, Schramm A, Verhoeven KJF, Bechsgaard J, Bilde T. Adapting to climate with limited genetic diversity: Nucleotide, DNA methylation and microbiome variation among populations of the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:5765-5783. [PMID: 36112081 PMCID: PMC9827990 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the role of genetic and nongenetic variants in modulating phenotypes is central to our knowledge of adaptive responses to local conditions and environmental change, particularly in species with such low population genetic diversity that it is likely to limit their evolutionary potential. A first step towards uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying population-specific responses to the environment is to carry out environmental association studies. We associated climatic variation with genetic, epigenetic and microbiome variation in populations of a social spider with extremely low standing genetic diversity. We identified genetic variants that are associated strongly with environmental variation, particularly with average temperature, a pattern consistent with local adaptation. Variation in DNA methylation in many genes was strongly correlated with a wide set of climate parameters, thereby revealing a different pattern of associations than that of genetic variants, which show strong correlations to a more restricted range of climate parameters. DNA methylation levels were largely independent of cis-genetic variation and of overall genetic population structure, suggesting that DNA methylation can work as an independent mechanism. Microbiome composition also correlated with environmental variation, but most strong associations were with precipitation-related climatic factors. Our results suggest a role for both genetic and nongenetic mechanisms in shaping phenotypic responses to local environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Aagaard
- Section for Genetics, Ecology & Evolution, Department of BiologyAarhus UniversityAarhus CDenmark
| | - Shenglin Liu
- Section for Genetics, Ecology & Evolution, Department of BiologyAarhus UniversityAarhus CDenmark
| | - Tom Tregenza
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of BiosciencesUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusUK
| | - Marie Braad Lund
- Section for Microbiology, Department of BiologyAarhus UniversityAarhus CDenmark
| | - Andreas Schramm
- Section for Microbiology, Department of BiologyAarhus UniversityAarhus CDenmark
| | - Koen J. F. Verhoeven
- Terrestrial Ecology DepartmentNetherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW)WageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Jesper Bechsgaard
- Section for Genetics, Ecology & Evolution, Department of BiologyAarhus UniversityAarhus CDenmark
| | - Trine Bilde
- Section for Genetics, Ecology & Evolution, Department of BiologyAarhus UniversityAarhus CDenmark
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11
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Moutinho AF, Eyre-Walker A, Dutheil JY. Strong evidence for the adaptive walk model of gene evolution in Drosophila and Arabidopsis. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001775. [PMID: 36099311 PMCID: PMC9470001 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the dynamics of species adaptation to their environments has long been a central focus of the study of evolution. Theories of adaptation propose that populations evolve by “walking” in a fitness landscape. This “adaptive walk” is characterised by a pattern of diminishing returns, where populations further away from their fitness optimum take larger steps than those closer to their optimal conditions. Hence, we expect young genes to evolve faster and experience mutations with stronger fitness effects than older genes because they are further away from their fitness optimum. Testing this hypothesis, however, constitutes an arduous task. Young genes are small, encode proteins with a higher degree of intrinsic disorder, are expressed at lower levels, and are involved in species-specific adaptations. Since all these factors lead to increased protein evolutionary rates, they could be masking the effect of gene age. While controlling for these factors, we used population genomic data sets of Arabidopsis and Drosophila and estimated the rate of adaptive substitutions across genes from different phylostrata. We found that a gene’s evolutionary age significantly impacts the molecular rate of adaptation. Moreover, we observed that substitutions in young genes tend to have larger physicochemical effects. Our study, therefore, provides strong evidence that molecular evolution follows an adaptive walk model across a large evolutionary timescale. This study uses population genomic datasets from Arabidopsis and Drosophila to show that young genes adapt faster and are subject to mutations of larger fitness effects, providing strong evidence that molecular evolution follows an adaptive walk model across a large evolutionary timescale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Filipa Moutinho
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Adam Eyre-Walker
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Julien Y. Dutheil
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
- Unité Mixte de Recherche 5554 Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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12
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Moore EC, Thomas GWC, Mortimer S, Kopania EEK, Hunnicutt KE, Clare-Salzler ZJ, Larson EL, Good JM. The evolution of widespread recombination suppression on the dwarf hamster (Phodopus) X chromosome. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6596369. [PMID: 35642315 PMCID: PMC9185382 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The X chromosome of therian mammals shows strong conservation among distantly related species, limiting insights into the distinct selective processes that have shaped sex chromosome evolution. We constructed a chromosome-scale de novo genome assembly for the Siberian dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus), a species reported to show extensive recombination suppression across an entire arm of the X chromosome. Combining a physical genome assembly based on shotgun and long-range proximity ligation sequencing with a dense genetic map, we detected widespread suppression of female recombination across ∼65% of the Phodopus X chromosome. This region of suppressed recombination likely corresponds to the Xp arm, which has previously been shown to be highly heterochromatic. Using additional sequencing data from two closely related species (P. campbelli and P. roborovskii), we show that recombination suppression on Xp appears to be independent of major structural rearrangements. The suppressed Xp arm was enriched for several transposable element families and de-enriched for genes primarily expressed in placenta, but otherwise showed similar gene densities, expression patterns, and rates of molecular evolution when compared to the recombinant Xq arm. Phodopus Xp gene content and order was also broadly conserved relative to the more distantly related rat X chromosome. These data suggest that widespread suppression of recombination has likely evolved through the transient induction of facultative heterochromatin on the Phodopus Xp arm without major changes in chromosome structure or genetic content. Thus, substantial changes in the recombination landscape have so far had relatively subtle influences on patterns of X-linked molecular evolution in these species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily C Moore
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA
| | - Gregg W C Thomas
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA
| | - Sebastian Mortimer
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA
| | - Emily E K Kopania
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA
| | - Kelsie E Hunnicutt
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, 80208, USA
| | | | - Erica L Larson
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, 80208, USA
| | - Jeffrey M Good
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA
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13
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Marques DA, Jones FC, Di Palma F, Kingsley DM, Reimchen TE. Genomic changes underlying repeated niche shifts in an adaptive radiation. Evolution 2022; 76:1301-1319. [PMID: 35398888 PMCID: PMC9320971 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
In adaptive radiations, single lineages rapidly diversify by adapting to many new niches. Little is known yet about the genomic mechanisms involved, that is, the source of genetic variation or genomic architecture facilitating or constraining adaptive radiation. Here, we investigate genomic changes associated with repeated invasion of many different freshwater niches by threespine stickleback in the Haida Gwaii archipelago, Canada, by resequencing single genomes from one marine and 28 freshwater populations. We find 89 likely targets of parallel selection in the genome that are enriched for old standing genetic variation. In contrast to theoretical expectations, their genomic architecture is highly dispersed with little clustering. Candidate genes and genotype-environment correlations match the three major environmental axes predation regime, light environment, and ecosystem size. In a niche space with these three dimensions, we find that the more divergent a new niche from the ancestral marine habitat, the more loci show signatures of parallel selection. Our findings suggest that the genomic architecture of parallel adaptation in adaptive radiation depends on the steepness of ecological gradients and the dimensionality of the niche space.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Marques
- Department of BiologyUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBCV8W 3N5Canada,Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernBernCH‐3012Switzerland,Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Centre for Ecology, Evolution, and BiogeochemistrySwiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Eawag ‐ Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyKastanienbaumCH‐6047Switzerland,Natural History Museum BaselBaselCH‐4051Switzerland
| | - Felicity C. Jones
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of MedicineStanfordCalifornia94305USA,Department of Developmental BiologyStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCalifornia94305USA,Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck SocietyTübingen72076Germany
| | - Federica Di Palma
- Earlham InstituteNorwichNR4 7UZUnited Kingdom,Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwichNR4 7TJUnited Kingdom
| | - David M. Kingsley
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of MedicineStanfordCalifornia94305USA,Department of Developmental BiologyStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCalifornia94305USA
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14
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Verdes A, Taboada S, Hamilton BR, Undheim EAB, Sonoda GG, Andrade SCS, Morato E, Isabel Marina A, Cárdenas CA, Riesgo A. Evolution, expression patterns and distribution of novel ribbon worm predatory and defensive toxins. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:6580756. [PMID: 35512366 PMCID: PMC9132205 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Ribbon worms are active predators that use an eversible proboscis to inject venom into their prey and defend themselves with toxic epidermal secretions. Previous work on nemertean venom has largely focused on just a few species and has not investigated the different predatory and defensive secretions in detail. Consequently, our understanding of the composition and evolution of ribbon worm venoms is still very limited. Here, we present a comparative study of nemertean venom combining RNA-seq differential gene expression analyses of venom-producing tissues, tandem mass spectrometry-based proteomics of toxic secretions, and mass spectrometry imaging of proboscis sections, to shed light onto the composition and evolution of predatory and defensive toxic secretions in Antarctonemertes valida. Our analyses reveal a wide diversity of putative defensive and predatory toxins with tissue-specific gene expression patterns and restricted distributions to the mucus and proboscis proteomes respectively, suggesting that ribbon worms produce distinct toxin cocktails for predation and defense. Our results also highlight the presence of numerous lineage-specific toxins, indicating that venom evolution is highly divergent across nemerteans, producing toxin cocktails that might be finely tuned to subdue different prey. Our data also suggest that the hoplonemertean proboscis is a highly specialized predatory organ that seems to be involved in a variety of biological functions besides predation, including secretion and sensory perception. Overall, our results advance our knowledge into the diversity and evolution of nemertean venoms and highlight the importance of combining different types of data to characterize toxin composition in understudied venomous organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida Verdes
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), CSIC, Madrid, Spain.,Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Sergi Taboada
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK.,Departament of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Brett R Hamilton
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Eivind A B Undheim
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway.,Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Gabriel G Sonoda
- Departmento de Genética e Biología Evolutiva, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sonia C S Andrade
- Departmento de Genética e Biología Evolutiva, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Esperanza Morato
- CBMSO Protein Chemistry Facility, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Isabel Marina
- CBMSO Protein Chemistry Facility, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - César A Cárdenas
- Departamento Científico, Instituto Antártico Chileno, Punta Arenas, Chile.,Millennium Institute Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems (BASE), Santiago, Chile
| | - Ana Riesgo
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), CSIC, Madrid, Spain.,Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
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15
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Angst P, Ebert D, Fields PD. Demographic history shapes genomic variation in an intracellular parasite with a wide geographic distribution. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:2528-2544. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.16419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Angst
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology University of Basel Vesalgasse 1 4051 Basel Switzerland
| | - Dieter Ebert
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology University of Basel Vesalgasse 1 4051 Basel Switzerland
| | - Peter D. Fields
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology University of Basel Vesalgasse 1 4051 Basel Switzerland
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16
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Fields PD, McTaggart S, Reisser CMO, Haag C, Palmer WH, Little TJ, Ebert D, Obbard DJ. Population-genomic analysis identifies a low rate of global adaptive fixation in the proteins of the cyclical parthenogen Daphnia magna. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:6542319. [PMID: 35244177 PMCID: PMC8963301 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Daphnia are well-established ecological and evolutionary models, and the interaction between D. magna and its microparasites is widely considered a paragon of the host-parasite coevolutionary process. Like other well-studied arthropods such as Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae, D. magna is a small, widespread, and abundant species that is therefore expected to display a large long-term population size and high rates of adaptive protein evolution. However, unlike these other species, D. magna is cyclically asexual and lives in a highly structured environment (ponds and lakes) with moderate levels of dispersal, both of which are predicted to impact upon long-term effective population size and adaptive protein evolution. To investigate patterns of adaptive protein fixation, we produced the complete coding genomes of 36 D. magna clones sampled from across the European range (Western Palaearctic), along with draft sequences for the close relatives D. similis and D. lumholtzi, used as outgroups. We analyzed genome-wide patterns of adaptive fixation, with a particular focus on genes that have an a priori expectation of high rates, such as those likely to mediate immune responses, RNA interference against viruses and transposable elements, and those with a strongly male-biased expression pattern. We find that, as expected, D. magna displays high levels of diversity and that this is highly structured among populations. However, compared with Drosophila, we find that D. magna proteins appear to have a high proportion of weakly deleterious variants and do not show evidence of pervasive adaptive fixation across its entire range. This is true of the genome as a whole, and also of putative ‘arms race’ genes that often show elevated levels of adaptive substitution in other species. In addition to the likely impact of extensive, and previously documented, local adaptation, we speculate that these findings may reflect reduced efficacy of selection associated with cyclical asexual reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter D Fields
- University of Basel, Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology, Vesalgasse 1, Basel, CH-4051, Switzerland
| | - Seanna McTaggart
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology; School of Biological Sciences University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
| | - Céline M O Reisser
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE UMR 5175, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, campus CNRS, 1919, route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.,MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Christoph Haag
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE UMR 5175, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, campus CNRS, 1919, route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - William H Palmer
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology; School of Biological Sciences University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
| | - Tom J Little
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology; School of Biological Sciences University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
| | - Dieter Ebert
- University of Basel, Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology, Vesalgasse 1, Basel, CH-4051, Switzerland
| | - Darren J Obbard
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology; School of Biological Sciences University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
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17
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Soni V, Eyre-Walker A. OUP accepted manuscript. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6528851. [PMID: 35166775 PMCID: PMC8882387 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The rate of amino acid substitution has been shown to be correlated to a number of factors including the rate of recombination, the age of the gene, the length of the protein, mean expression level, and gene function. However, the extent to which these correlations are due to adaptive and nonadaptive evolution has not been studied in detail, at least not in hominids. We find that the rate of adaptive evolution is significantly positively correlated to the rate of recombination, protein length and gene expression level, and negatively correlated to gene age. These correlations remain significant when each factor is controlled for in turn, except when controlling for expression in an analysis of protein length; and they also generally remain significant when biased gene conversion is taken into account. However, the positive correlations could be an artifact of population size contraction. We also find that the rate of nonadaptive evolution is negatively correlated to each factor, and all these correlations survive controlling for each other and biased gene conversion. Finally, we examine the effect of gene function on rates of adaptive and nonadaptive evolution; we confirm that virus-interacting proteins (VIPs) have higher rates of adaptive and lower rates of nonadaptive evolution, but we also demonstrate that there is significant variation in the rate of adaptive and nonadaptive evolution between GO categories when removing VIPs. We estimate that the VIP/non-VIP axis explains about 5–8 fold more of the variance in evolutionary rate than GO categories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivak Soni
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Adam Eyre-Walker
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
- Corresponding author: E-mail:
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18
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Abstract
It is known that methods to estimate the rate of adaptive evolution, which are based on the McDonald–Kreitman test, can be biased by changes in effective population size. Here, we demonstrate theoretically that changes in population size can also generate an artifactual correlation between the rate of adaptive evolution and any factor that is correlated to the strength of selection acting against deleterious mutations. In this context, we have investigated whether several site-level factors influence the rate of adaptive evolution in the divergence of humans and chimpanzees, two species that have been inferred to have undergone population size contraction since they diverged. We find that the rate of adaptive evolution, relative to the rate of mutation, is higher for more exposed amino acids, lower for amino acid pairs that are more dissimilar in terms of their polarity, volume, and lower for amino acid pairs that are subject to stronger purifying selection, as measured by the ratio of the numbers of nonsynonymous to synonymous polymorphisms (pN/pS). All of these correlations are opposite to the artifactual correlations expected under contracting population size. We therefore conclude that these correlations are genuine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivak Soni
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Ana Filipa Moutinho
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
- Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plon, Germany
| | - Adam Eyre-Walker
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
- Corresponding author: E-mail:
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19
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Huang YF. Dissecting genomic determinants of positive selection with an evolution-guided regression model. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 39:6379733. [PMID: 34597406 PMCID: PMC8763110 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In evolutionary genomics, it is fundamentally important to understand how characteristics of genomic sequences, such as gene expression level, determine the rate of adaptive evolution. While numerous statistical methods, such as the McDonald–Kreitman (MK) test, are available to examine the association between genomic features and the rate of adaptation, we currently lack a statistical approach to disentangle the independent effect of a genomic feature from the effects of other correlated genomic features. To address this problem, I present a novel statistical model, the MK regression, which augments the MK test with a generalized linear model. Analogous to the classical multiple regression model, the MK regression can analyze multiple genomic features simultaneously to infer the independent effect of a genomic feature, holding constant all other genomic features. Using the MK regression, I identify numerous genomic features driving positive selection in chimpanzees. These features include well-known ones, such as local mutation rate, residue exposure level, tissue specificity, and immune genes, as well as new features not previously reported, such as gene expression level and metabolic genes. In particular, I show that highly expressed genes may have a higher adaptation rate than their weakly expressed counterparts, even though a higher expression level may impose stronger negative selection. Also, I show that metabolic genes may have a higher adaptation rate than their nonmetabolic counterparts, possibly due to recent changes in diet in primate evolution. Overall, the MK regression is a powerful approach to elucidate the genomic basis of adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Fei Huang
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.,Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
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20
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Madgwick PG, Kanitz R. Evolution of resistance under alternative models of selective interference. J Evol Biol 2021; 34:1608-1623. [PMID: 34449949 PMCID: PMC9293239 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The use of multiple pesticides or drugs can lead to a simultaneous selection pressure for resistance alleles at different loci. Models of resistance evolution focus on how this can delay the spread of resistance through a population, but often neglect how this can also reduce the probability that a resistance allele spreads. This neglected factor has been studied in a parallel literature as selective interference. Models of interference use alternative constructions of fitness, where selection coefficients from different loci either add or multiply. Although these are equivalent under weak selection, the two constructions make alternative predictions under the strong selection that characterizes resistance evolution. Here, simulations are used to examine the effects of interference on the probability of fixation and time to fixation of a new and strongly beneficial mutation in the presence of another strongly beneficial allele with variable starting frequency. The results from simulations show a complicated pattern of effects. The key result is that, under multiplicativity, the presence of the strongly beneficial allele leads to a small reduction in the probability of fixation for the new beneficial mutation up to ~10%, and a negligible increase in the average time to fixation up to ~2%, whereas under additivity, the effect is more substantial at up to ~50% for the probability of fixation and ~100% for the average time to fixation. Consequently, the effect of interference is only an important feature of resistance evolution under additivity. Current evidence from studies of experimental evolution provides widespread support for the basic features of additivity, which suggests that interference may afford resistance a different pattern of evolution than other adaptations: rather than the gradual and simultaneous selection of many alleles with small effects, the rapid evolution of resistance may involve the sequential selection of alleles with large effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip G Madgwick
- Syngenta, Jealott's Hill International Research Centre, Bracknell, UK
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21
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Chen J, Bataillon T, Glémin S, Lascoux M. Hunting for beneficial mutations: conditioning on SIFT scores when estimating the distribution of fitness effect of new mutations. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 14:6310736. [PMID: 34180988 PMCID: PMC8743036 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Distribution of Fitness Effects (DFE) of new mutations is a key parameter of molecular evolution. The DFE can in principle be estimated by comparing the Site Frequency Spectra (SFS) of putatively neutral and functional polymorphisms. Unfortunately the DFE is intrinsically hard to estimate, especially for beneficial mutations since these tend to be exceedingly rare. There is therefore a strong incentive to find out whether conditioning on properties of mutations that are independent of the SFS could provide additional information. In the present study, we developed a new measure based on SIFT scores. SIFT scores are assigned to nucleotide sites based on their level of conservation across a multi species alignment: the more conserved a site, the more likely mutations occurring at this site are deleterious and the lower the SIFT score. If one knows the ancestral state at a given site, one can assign a value to new mutations occurring at the site based on the change of SIFT score associated with the mutation. We called this new measure δ. We show that properties of the DFE as well as the flux of beneficial mutations across classes covary with δ and, hence, that SIFT scores are informative when estimating the fitness effect of new mutations. In particular, conditioning on SIFT scores can help to characterize beneficial mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China
| | - T Bataillon
- Bioinformatics Research Centre, Aarhus University, C.F. Møllers Allé 8, Aarhus C, DK-8000, Denmark
| | - S Glémin
- Université de Rennes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ECOBIO (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Evolution) - Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) 6553, Rennes, F-35000, France.,Program in Plant Ecology and Evolution, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 75236, Sweden
| | - M Lascoux
- Program in Plant Ecology and Evolution, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 75236, Sweden
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22
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Thomson AI, Archer FI, Coleman MA, Gajardo G, Goodall‐Copestake WP, Hoban S, Laikre L, Miller AD, O’Brien D, Pérez‐Espona S, Segelbacher G, Serrão EA, Sjøtun K, Stanley MS. Charting a course for genetic diversity in the UN Decade of Ocean Science. Evol Appl 2021; 14:1497-1518. [PMID: 34178100 PMCID: PMC8210796 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The health of the world's oceans is intrinsically linked to the biodiversity of the ecosystems they sustain. The importance of protecting and maintaining ocean biodiversity has been affirmed through the setting of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 to conserve and sustainably use the ocean for society's continuing needs. The decade beginning 2021-2030 has additionally been declared as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. This program aims to maximize the benefits of ocean science to the management, conservation, and sustainable development of the marine environment by facilitating communication and cooperation at the science-policy interface. A central principle of the program is the conservation of species and ecosystem components of biodiversity. However, a significant omission from the draft version of the Decade of Ocean Science Implementation Plan is the acknowledgment of the importance of monitoring and maintaining genetic biodiversity within species. In this paper, we emphasize the importance of genetic diversity to adaptive capacity, evolutionary potential, community function, and resilience within populations, as well as highlighting some of the major threats to genetic diversity in the marine environment from direct human impacts and the effects of global climate change. We then highlight the significance of ocean genetic diversity to a diverse range of socioeconomic factors in the marine environment, including marine industries, welfare and leisure pursuits, coastal communities, and wider society. Genetic biodiversity in the ocean, and its monitoring and maintenance, is then discussed with respect to its integral role in the successful realization of the 2030 vision for the Decade of Ocean Science. Finally, we suggest how ocean genetic diversity might be better integrated into biodiversity management practices through the continued interaction between environmental managers and scientists, as well as through key leverage points in industry requirements for Blue Capital financing and social responsibility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Melinda A. Coleman
- New South Wales FisheriesNational Marine Science CentreCoffs HarbourNSWAustralia
- National Marine Science CentreSouthern Cross UniversityCoffs HarbourNSWAustralia
- Oceans Institute and School of Biological SciencesUniversity of Western AustraliaCrawleyWAAustralia
| | - Gonzalo Gajardo
- Laboratory of Genetics, Aquaculture & BiodiversityUniversidad de Los LagosOsornoChile
| | | | - Sean Hoban
- Centre for Tree ScienceThe Morton ArboretumLisleILUSA
| | - Linda Laikre
- Centre for Tree ScienceThe Morton ArboretumLisleILUSA
- The Wildlife Analysis UnitThe Swedish Environmental Protection AgencyStockholmSweden
| | - Adam D. Miller
- School of Life and Environmental SciencesCentre for Integrative EcologyDeakin UniversityGeelongVicAustralia
- Deakin Genomics CentreDeakin UniversityGeelongVic.Australia
| | | | - Sílvia Pérez‐Espona
- The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin InstituteMidlothianUK
| | - Gernot Segelbacher
- Chair of Wildlife Ecology and ManagementUniversity FreiburgFreiburgGermany
| | - Ester A. Serrão
- CCMARCentre of Marine SciencesFaculty of Sciences and TechnologyUniversity of AlgarveFaroPortugal
| | - Kjersti Sjøtun
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
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23
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Haworth SE, Nituch L, Northrup JM, Shafer ABA. Characterizing the demographic history and prion protein variation to infer susceptibility to chronic wasting disease in a naïve population of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus). Evol Appl 2021; 14:1528-1539. [PMID: 34178102 PMCID: PMC8210793 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Assessments of the adaptive potential in natural populations are essential for understanding and predicting responses to environmental stressors like climate change and infectious disease. Species face a range of stressors in human-dominated landscapes, often with contrasting effects. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; deer) are expanding in the northern part of their range following decreasing winter severity and increasing forage availability. Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disease affecting deer, is likewise expanding and represents a major threat to deer and other cervids. We obtained tissue samples from free-ranging deer across their native range in Ontario, Canada, which has yet to detect CWD in wild populations. We used high-throughput sequencing to assess neutral genomic variation and variation in the prion protein gene (PRNP) that is partly responsible for the protein misfolding when deer contract CWD. Neutral variation revealed a high number of rare alleles and no population structure, and demographic models suggested a rapid historical population expansion. Allele frequencies of PRNP variants associated with CWD susceptibility and disease progression were evenly distributed across the landscape and consistent with deer populations not infected with CWD. We estimated the selection coefficient of CWD, with simulations showing an observable and rapid shift in PRNP allele frequencies that coincides with the start of a novel CWD outbreak. Sustained surveillance of genomic and PRNP variation can be a useful tool for guiding management practices, which is especially important for CWD-free regions where deer are managed for ecological and economic benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E. Haworth
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate ProgramTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Larissa Nituch
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring SectionOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and ForestryTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Joseph M. Northrup
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate ProgramTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring SectionOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and ForestryTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Aaron B. A. Shafer
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate ProgramTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
- Department of ForensicsTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
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24
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Yoder AD, Tiley GP. The challenge and promise of estimating the de novo mutation rate from whole-genome comparisons among closely related individuals. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:6087-6100. [PMID: 34062029 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Germline mutations are the raw material for natural selection, driving species evolution and the generation of earth's biodiversity. Without this driver of genetic diversity, life on earth would stagnate. Yet, it is a double-edged sword. An excess of mutations can have devastating effects on fitness and population viability. It is therefore one of the great challenges of molecular ecology to determine the rate and mechanisms by which these mutations accrue across the tree of life. Advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies are providing new opportunities for characterizing the rates and mutational spectra within species and populations thus informing essential evolutionary parameters such as the timing of speciation events, the intricacies of historical demography, and the degree to which lineages are subject to the burdens of mutational load. Here, we will focus on both the challenge and promise of whole-genome comparisons among parents and their offspring from known pedigrees for the detection of germline mutations as they arise in a single generation. The potential of these studies is high, but the field is still in its infancy and much uncertainty remains. Namely, the technical challenges are daunting given that pedigree-based genome comparisons are essentially searching for needles in a haystack given the very low signal to noise ratio. Despite the challenges, we predict that rapidly developing methods for whole-genome comparisons hold great promise for integrating empirically derived estimates of de novo mutation rates and mutation spectra across many molecular ecological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne D Yoder
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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25
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Teixeira JC, Huber CD. The inflated significance of neutral genetic diversity in conservation genetics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2015096118. [PMID: 33608481 PMCID: PMC7958437 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2015096118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The current rate of species extinction is rapidly approaching unprecedented highs, and life on Earth presently faces a sixth mass extinction event driven by anthropogenic activity, climate change, and ecological collapse. The field of conservation genetics aims at preserving species by using their levels of genetic diversity, usually measured as neutral genome-wide diversity, as a barometer for evaluating population health and extinction risk. A fundamental assumption is that higher levels of genetic diversity lead to an increase in fitness and long-term survival of a species. Here, we argue against the perceived importance of neutral genetic diversity for the conservation of wild populations and species. We demonstrate that no simple general relationship exists between neutral genetic diversity and the risk of species extinction. Instead, a better understanding of the properties of functional genetic diversity, demographic history, and ecological relationships is necessary for developing and implementing effective conservation genetic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- João C Teixeira
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005 SA, Australia;
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005 SA, Australia
| | - Christian D Huber
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005 SA, Australia;
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26
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Island songbirds as windows into evolution in small populations. Curr Biol 2021; 31:1303-1310.e4. [PMID: 33476557 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Due to their limited ranges and inherent isolation, island species have long been recognized as crucial systems for tackling a range of evolutionary questions, including in the early study of speciation.1,2 Such species have been less studied in the understanding of the evolutionary forces driving DNA sequence evolution. Island species usually have lower census population sizes (N) than continental species and, supposedly, lower effective population sizes (Ne). Given that both the rates of change caused by genetic drift and by selection are dependent upon Ne, island species are theoretically expected to exhibit (1) lower genetic diversity, (2) less effective natural selection against slightly deleterious mutations,3,4 and (3) a lower rate of adaptive evolution.5-8 Here, we have used a large set of newly sequenced and published whole-genome sequences of Passerida species (14 insular and 11 continental) to test these predictions. We confirm that island species exhibit lower census size and Ne, supporting the hypothesis that the smaller area available on islands constrains the upper bound of Ne. In the insular species, we find lower nucleotide diversity in coding regions, higher ratios of non-synonymous to synonymous polymorphisms, and lower adaptive substitution rates. Our results provide robust evidence that the lower Ne experienced by island species has affected both the ability of natural selection to efficiently remove weakly deleterious mutations and also the adaptive potential of island species, therefore providing considerable empirical support for the nearly neutral theory. We discuss the implications for both evolutionary and conservation biology.
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Booker TR, Yeaman S, Whitlock MC. Global adaptation complicates the interpretation of genome scans for local adaptation. Evol Lett 2020; 5:4-15. [PMID: 33552532 PMCID: PMC7857299 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatially varying selection promotes variance in allele frequencies, increasing genetic differentiation between the demes of a metapopulation. For that reason, outliers in the genome‐wide distribution of summary statistics measuring genetic differentiation, such as FST, are often interpreted as evidence for alleles that contribute to local adaptation. However, theoretical studies have shown that in spatially structured populations the spread of beneficial mutations with spatially uniform fitness effects can also induce transient genetic differentiation. In recent years, numerous empirical studies have suggested that such species‐wide, or global, adaptation makes a substantial contribution to molecular evolution. In this perspective, we discuss how commonly such global adaptation may influence the genome‐wide distribution of FST and generate genetic differentiation patterns, which could be mistaken for local adaptation. To illustrate this, we use forward‐in‐time population genetic simulations assuming parameters for the rate and strength of beneficial mutations consistent with estimates from natural populations. We demonstrate that the spread of globally beneficial mutations in parapatric populations may frequently generate FST outliers, which could be misinterpreted as evidence for local adaptation. The spread of beneficial mutations causes selective sweeps at flanking sites, so in some cases, the effects of global versus local adaptation may be distinguished by examining patterns of nucleotide diversity within and between populations in addition to FST. However, when local adaptation has been only recently established, it may be much more difficult to distinguish from global adaptation, due to less accumulation of linkage disequilibrium at flanking sites. Through our discussion, we conclude that a large fraction of FST outliers that are presumed to arise from local adaptation may instead be due to global adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom R Booker
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada.,Biodiversity Research Centre University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada
| | - Sam Yeaman
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Calgary Calgary Canada
| | - Michael C Whitlock
- Biodiversity Research Centre University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada.,Department of Zoology University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada
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Moldovan M, Chervontseva Z, Bazykin G, Gelfand MS. Adaptive evolution at mRNA editing sites in soft-bodied cephalopods. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10456. [PMID: 33312772 PMCID: PMC7703385 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The bulk of variability in mRNA sequence arises due to mutation-change in DNA sequence which is heritable if it occurs in the germline. However, variation in mRNA can also be achieved by post-transcriptional modification including mRNA editing, changes in mRNA nucleotide sequence that mimic the effect of mutations. Such modifications are not inherited directly; however, as the processes affecting them are encoded in the genome, they have a heritable component, and therefore can be shaped by selection. In soft-bodied cephalopods, adenine-to-inosine RNA editing is very frequent, and much of it occurs at nonsynonymous sites, affecting the sequence of the encoded protein. METHODS We study selection regimes at coleoid A-to-I editing sites, estimate the prevalence of positive selection, and analyze interdependencies between the editing level and contextual characteristics of editing site. RESULTS Here, we show that mRNA editing of individual nonsynonymous sites in cephalopods originates in evolution through substitutions at regions adjacent to these sites. As such substitutions mimic the effect of the substitution at the edited site itself, we hypothesize that they are favored by selection if the inosine is selectively advantageous to adenine at the edited position. Consistent with this hypothesis, we show that edited adenines are more frequently substituted with guanine, an informational analog of inosine, in the course of evolution than their unedited counterparts, and for heavily edited adenines, these transitions are favored by positive selection. Our study shows that coleoid editing sites may enhance adaptation, which, together with recent observations on Drosophila and human editing sites, points at a general role of RNA editing in the molecular evolution of metazoans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikhail Moldovan
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Zoe Chervontseva
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russian Federation
- A.A.Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Georgii Bazykin
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russian Federation
- A.A.Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Mikhail S. Gelfand
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russian Federation
- A.A.Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
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29
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Zhen Y, Huber CD, Davies RW, Lohmueller KE. Greater strength of selection and higher proportion of beneficial amino acid changing mutations in humans compared with mice and Drosophila melanogaster. Genome Res 2020; 31:110-120. [PMID: 33208456 PMCID: PMC7849390 DOI: 10.1101/gr.256636.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2019] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Quantifying and comparing the amount of adaptive evolution among different species is key to understanding how evolution works. Previous studies have shown differences in adaptive evolution across species; however, their specific causes remain elusive. Here, we use improved modeling of weakly deleterious mutations and the demographic history of the outgroup species and ancestral population and estimate that at least 20% of nonsynonymous substitutions between humans and an outgroup species were fixed by positive selection. This estimate is much higher than previous estimates, which did not correct for the sizes of the outgroup species and ancestral population. Next, we jointly estimate the proportion and selection coefficient (p+ and s+, respectively) of newly arising beneficial nonsynonymous mutations in humans, mice, and Drosophila melanogaster by examining patterns of polymorphism and divergence. We develop a novel composite likelihood framework to test whether these parameters differ across species. Overall, we reject a model with the same p+ and s+ of beneficial mutations across species and estimate that humans have a higher p+s+ compared with that of D. melanogaster and mice. We show that this result cannot be caused by biased gene conversion or hypermutable CpG sites. We discuss possible biological explanations that could generate the observed differences in the amount of adaptive evolution across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Zhen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.,Zhejiang Provincial Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310024, China.,Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310024, China
| | - Christian D Huber
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Robert W Davies
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology and The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 0A4, Canada.,Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3LB, United Kingdom
| | - Kirk E Lohmueller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.,Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
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30
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James J, Eyre-Walker A. Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Diversity in Mammals: A Correlation between the Effective and Census Population Sizes. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 12:2441-2449. [PMID: 33095231 PMCID: PMC7719226 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
What determines the level of genetic diversity of a species remains one of the enduring problems of population genetics. Because neutral diversity depends upon the product of the effective population size and mutation rate, there is an expectation that diversity should be correlated to measures of census population size. This correlation is often observed for nuclear but not for mitochondrial DNA. Here, we revisit the question of whether mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity is correlated to census population size by compiling the largest data set to date, using 639 mammalian species. In a multiple regression, we find that nucleotide diversity is significantly correlated to both range size and mass-specific metabolic rate, but not a variety of other factors. We also find that a measure of the effective population size, the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous diversity, is also significantly negatively correlated to both range size and mass-specific metabolic rate. These results together suggest that species with larger ranges have larger effective population sizes. The slope of the relationship between diversity and range is such that doubling the range increases diversity by 12–20%, providing one of the first quantifications of the relationship between diversity and the census population size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer James
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson
| | - Adam Eyre-Walker
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
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31
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Galtier N, Rousselle M. How Much Does Ne Vary Among Species? Genetics 2020; 216:559-572. [PMID: 32839240 PMCID: PMC7536855 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.120.303622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic drift is an important evolutionary force of strength inversely proportional to Ne , the effective population size. The impact of drift on genome diversity and evolution is known to vary among species, but quantifying this effect is a difficult task. Here we assess the magnitude of variation in drift power among species of animals via its effect on the mutation load - which implies also inferring the distribution of fitness effects of deleterious mutations. To this aim, we analyze the nonsynonymous (amino-acid changing) and synonymous (amino-acid conservative) allele frequency spectra in a large sample of metazoan species, with a focus on the primates vs. fruit flies contrast. We show that a Gamma model of the distribution of fitness effects is not suitable due to strong differences in estimated shape parameters among taxa, while adding a class of lethal mutations essentially solves the problem. Using the Gamma + lethal model and assuming that the mean deleterious effects of nonsynonymous mutations is shared among species, we estimate that the power of drift varies by a factor of at least 500 between large-Ne and small-Ne species of animals, i.e., an order of magnitude more than the among-species variation in genetic diversity. Our results are relevant to Lewontin's paradox while further questioning the meaning of the Ne parameter in population genomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Galtier
- Institute of Evolution Sciences of Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, University of Montpellier, IRD, EPHE, 34095 Montpellier, France
| | - Marjolaine Rousselle
- Institute of Evolution Sciences of Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, University of Montpellier, IRD, EPHE, 34095 Montpellier, France
- Bioinformatics Research Centre, Aarhus University, DK Aarhus, Denmark
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