46 research outputs found
Costs and benefits of mating-type switching
No full textData set accompanying manuscript "Repeated evolution
of self-compatibility for reproductive assurance"By Bart P.S. Nieuwenhuis, Sergio Tusso, Pernilla Bjerling, Josefine Stångberg,
Jochen B.W. Wolf and Simone ImmlerThis dataset contains the raw counts before and after competitions for competitions during asexual growth (asex_[..]) and competitions during reproduction including mating under different densities (sex_[..]). The data is analysed and plots for the manuscript are generated using the R script 'analyses_revision2.R'.Cellular Automata Simulations were performed using the script in the 'Run_simulations.R' file which requires functions in 'CA_functions.R'</p
Kin in space: social viscosity in a spatially and genetically substructured network
No full textWolf JBW, Trillmich F. Kin in space: social viscosity in a spatially and genetically substructured network. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. 2008;275(1647):2063-2069.Population substructuring is a fundamental aspect of animal societies. A growing number of theoretical studies recognize that who-meets-whom is not random, but rather determined by spatial relationships or illustrated by social networks. Structural properties of large highly dynamic social systems are notoriously difficult to unravel. Network approaches provide powerful ways to analyse the intricate relationships between social behaviour, dispersal strategies and genetic structure. Applying network analytical tools to a colony of the highly gregarious Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki), we find several genetic clusters that correspond to spatially determined 'network communities'. Overall relatedness was low, and genetic structure in the network can be interpreted as an emergent property of philopatry and seems not to be primarily driven by targeted interactions among highly related individuals in family groups. Nevertheless, social relationships between directly adjacent individuals in the network were stronger among genetically more similar individuals. Taken together, these results suggest that even small differences in the degree of relatedness can influence behavioural decisions. This raises the fascinating prospect that kin selection may also apply to low levels of relatedness within densely packed animal groups where less obvious co-operative interactions such as increased tolerance and stress reduction are important
Speciation genomics [Elektronisk resurs] : A perspective from vertebrate systems
No full textSpecies are vital entities in biology. Species are generally considered to be discrete entities, consisting of a group of (usually interbreeding) individuals that are similar in phenotype and genetic composition, yet differ in significant ways from other species. The study of speciation has focussed on understanding general evolutionary mechanisms involved in the accumulation of differences both at the genetic and phenotypic level. In this thesis, I investigate incipient speciation, an early stage of divergence towards evolutionary independence in closely related natural populations. I make ample use of recent advances in sequencing technology that allow 1) characterizing phenotypic divergence at the level of the transcriptome and 2) delineate patterns of genetic variation at genome-scale from which processes are inferred by using principles of population genetic theory.In the first paper, we assembled a draft genome of the hooded crow and investigated population differentiation across a famous European hybrid zone. Comparing sequence differentiation peaks between and within the colour morphs, we could identify regions of the genome that show differentiation only between colour morphs and that could be related to gene expression profiles of the melanogenesis pathway coding for colour differences.The second paper expands on the first paper in that it includes crow population samples from across the entire Palaearctic distribution spanning two additional zones of contact between colour morphs. The results suggest that regions associated with selection against gene flow between colour morphs were largely idiosyncratic to each contact zone and emerged against a background of conserved 'islands of differentiation' due to shared linked selection.The third paper focusses on five killer whale ecotypes with distinct feeding and habitat specific adaptations. Differing levels of sequence differentiation between these ecotypes places them along a speciation continuum and provides a unique temporal cross-section of the speciation process. Using genome scans we identified regions of the genome that show ecotype specific differentiation patterns which might contain candidate genes involved in adaptation.In the fourth and final paper, I assumed a comparative genomic perspective to the problem of heterogeneous genomic differentiation during population divergence. The relatively high correlations in the diversity landscapes as well as differentiation patterns between crow, flycatcher and Darwin's Finch populations is best explained by conservation in broad-scale recombination rate and/or association with telomeres and centromeres conducive to shared, linked selection.</p
Extra‐pair paternity as a strategy to reduce the costs of heterospecific reproduction? Insights from the crow hybrid zone
No full textWithin hybrid zones of socially monogamous species, the number of mating opportunities with a conspecific can be limited. As a consequence, individuals may mate with a heterospecific (social) partner despite possible fitness costs to their hybrid offspring. Extra‐pair copulations with a conspecific may thus arise as a possible post hoc strategy to reduce the costs of hybridization. We here assessed the rate of extra‐pair paternity in the hybrid zone between all‐black carrion crows (Corvus (corone) corone ) and grey hooded crows (C. (c.) cornix ) and tested whether extra‐pair paternity (EPP) was more likely in broods where parents differed in plumage colour. The proportion of broods with at least one extra‐pair offspring and the proportion of extra‐pair offspring were low overall (6.98% and 2.90%, respectively) with no evidence of hybrid broods having higher EPP rates than purebred nests
Why time matters: Codon evolution and the temporal dynamics of dN/dS
No full textInternational audienc
Adaptive divergence in fission yeast [Elektronisk resurs] : From experimental evolution to evolutionary genomics
No full textHow adaptation and population differentiation occur is fundamental to understand the origin of biodiversity. Work in speciation alongside the increased ease of generating genomic data have allowed the exploration of genomic changes relevant to adaptation. However, it remains challenging to infer the underlying mechanisms from genomic patterns of divergence governed by both genomic properties and external selective pressures. The chronological order of genomic changes, evolutionary history and selective forces can rarely be inferred from natural populations.Currently, I see two promising ways to tackle the problem of the genomic underpinnings of divergence: (1) evolution experiments simulating adaptation and population divergence and measuring genomic changes as they occur through time; (2) empirical studies of closely related populations in which the extent of divergence varies, allowing us to infer the chronology of the genomic changes. In my Ph.D. research I applied these two approaches, using the fungus Schizosaccharomyces pombe. First, I experimentally tested the potential for ecological divergence with gene flow, and investigated genomic and phenotypic changes associated with this process. Next, I studied genomic data obtained from natural populations sampled worldwide. In both cases, the genetic inference relied on different sequencing technologies including the Illumina, Pacific Biosciences and Oxford Nanopore platforms.The experiment explored the effect of gene flow on phenotype and fitness, and uncovered potential molecular mechanisms underlying adaptive divergence. In paper I we demonstrate the emergence of specialisation under low gene flow, but generalist strategies when gene flow was high. Evolved phenotypes were largely influenced by standing genetic variation subject to opposite antagonistic pleiotropy complemented by new mutations enriched in a subset of genes. In paper II, we show that the experimental selective regime also had an effect on mating strategies, result of temporal ecological heterogeneity and selection for mating efficiency. We found that the evolution of mating strategies was explained by a trade-off between mating efficiency and asexual growth rate dependent on environmental stability. Papers III and IV consider the role of gene flow in natural populations. In paper III, we provide evidence that gene flow also played a predominant role in adaptive divergence in nature. All strains resulted from recent hybridization between two ancestral groups manifested in large phenotypic variation and reproductive isolation.This demographic history of hybridization was confirmed in paper IV focusing on patterns of mitochondrial diversity, adding evidence for the geographic distribution of the ancestral populations and potential for horizontal gene transfer from a distant yeast clade. </p
Disruptive selection without genome-wide evolution across a migratory divide
No full textTranscontinental migration is a fascinating example of how animals can respond to climatic oscillation. Yet, quantitative data on fitness components are scarce, and the resulting population genetic consequences are poorly understood. Migratory divides, hybrid zones with a transition in migratory behaviour, provide a natural setting to investigate the micro-evolutionary dynamics induced by migration under sympatric conditions. Here, we studied the effects of migratory programme on survival, trait evolution and genome-wide patterns of population differentiation in a migratory divide of European barn swallows. We sampled a total of 824 individuals from both allopatric European populations wintering in central and southern Africa, respectively, along with two mixed populations from within the migratory divide. While most morphological characters varied by latitude consistent with Bergmann's rule, wing length co-varied with distance to wintering grounds. Survival data collected during a 5-year period provided strong evidence that this covariance is repeatedly generated by disruptive selection against intermediate phenotypes. Yet, selection-induced divergence did not translate into genome-wide genetic differentiation as assessed by microsatellites, mtDNA and >20 000 genome-wide SNP markers; nor did we find evidence of local genomic selection between migratory types. Among breeding populations, a single outlier locus mapped to the BUB1 gene with a role in mitotic and meiotic organization. Overall, this study provides evidence for an adaptive response to variation in migration behaviour continuously eroded by gene flow under current conditions of nonassortative mating. It supports the theoretical prediction that population differentiation is difficult to achieve under conditions of gene flow despite measurable disruptive selection. © 2016 John Wiley Sons Lt
