scholarly journals THE SURVIVAL OF MUTANTS AT VERY LOW FREQUENCIES IN TRIBOLIUM POPULATIONS

Genetics ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 805-818
Author(s):  
Robert R Sokal ◽  
Aykut Kence ◽  
David E McCauley
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Branching Process ◽  
Tactile Stimulation ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Developmental Period ◽  
Extinction Rate ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Frequencies ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Average Gene

ABSTRACT Forty population cages, each with 499 adult T. castaneum of the wild-type UPF strain, received a bb female newly mated with UPF males. Half of the immigrants had a Chicago Black genetic background, the other half a UPF background. These conditions simulate, respectively, the fate of a rare, genetically differing immigrant or the fate of a mutation in populations of considerable size. Adults were censused for 11 discrete generations. The semi-dominant autosomal black gene survived in 26 out of 40 cultures by the end of the experiment, demonstrating its selective advantage at these very low frequencies. The gene increased from an initial frequency of 0.002 to 0.055 (at generation 11) in at least one replicate. Although frequency-dependent fitness has been shown for black at higher frequencies, no such dependence could be demonstrated at the low frequencies of this study. The cultures simulating mutations (immigrants with native backgrounds) had a higher average gene frequency, different distribution of gene frequencies across replicates, and a lower extinction rate of black than did the cultures with alien background immigrants. The observations only partially fitted expectation based on a branching process model. The data show a tendency for the persistence of a few heterozygotes in cultures and for a deficiency of cultures that lost the mutant or those with many heterozygotes. The increase in frequency of black cannot be attributed to increased reproductive success of heterozygotes. The advantage of heterozygotes appears due to delayed developmental period as a result of tactile stimulation and probable differential cannibalism among pupae.

scholarly journals A Branching Process Model of Evolutionary Rescue

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Olofsson ◽  
Ricardo B. R. Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Mutation Rate ◽  
Discrete Time ◽  
Growth Curve ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Branching Process ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Beneficial Mutations ◽  
Evolutionary Rescue

Evolutionary rescue is the process whereby a declining population may start growing again, thus avoiding extinction, via an increase in the frequency of beneficial genotypes. These genotypes may either already be present in the population in small numbers, or arise by mutation as the population declines. We present a simple two-type discrete-time branching process model and use it to obtain results such as the probability of rescue, the shape of the population growth curve of a rescued population, and the time until the first rescuing mutation occurs. Comparisons are made to existing results in the literature in cases where both the mutation rate and the selective advantage of the beneficial mutations are small.

scholarly journals Sword of Damocles or choosing well. Population genetics sheds light into the future of the COVID-19 pandemic and SARS-CoV-2 new mutant strains

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. García de Alcañíz ◽  
V. López-Rodas ◽  
E. Costas
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetics ◽  
Branching Process ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Conceptual Difficulty ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
The Future ◽  
Forward Equations ◽  
Process Method

AbstractAn immense scientific effort has been made worldwide due to Covid-19’s pandemic magnitude. It has made possible to identify almost 300,000 SARS-CoV-2 different genetic variants, connecting them with clinical and epidemiological findings. Among this immense data collection, that constitutes the biggest evolutionary experiment in history, is buried the answer to what will happen in the future. Will new strains, more contagious than the current ones or resistant to the vaccines, arise by mutation? Although theoretic population genetics is, by far, the most powerful tool we have to do an accurate prediction, it has been barely used for the study of SARS-CoV-2 due to its conceptual difficulty. Having in mind that the size of the SARS-CoV-2 population is astronomical we can apply a discrete treatment, based on the branching process method, Fokker-Plank equations and Kolmogoroff’s forward equations, to calculate the survival likelihood through time, to elucidate the likelihood to become dominant genotypes and how long will this take, for new SARS-CoV-2 mutants depending on their selective advantage. Results show that most of the new mutants that will arise in the SARS-CoV-2 meta-population will stay at very low frequencies. However, some few new mutants, significantly more infectious than current ones, will still emerge and become dominant in the population favoured by a great selective advantage. Far from showing a “mutational meltdown”, SARS-CoV-2 meta-population will increase its fitness becoming more infective. There is a probability, small but finite, that new mutants arise resistant to some vaccines. High infected numbers and slow vaccination programs will significantly increase this likelihood.

scholarly journals The Probability of Fixation in Populations of Changing Size

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 146 (2) ◽  
pp. 723-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah P Otto ◽  
Michael C Whitlock
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Equation ◽  
Adaptive Evolution ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Branching Process ◽  
Approximate Solutions ◽  
Logistic Growth ◽  
Beneficial Mutations ◽  
Demographic Models ◽  
Deleterious Alleles ◽  
Probability Of Fixation

The rate of adaptive evolution of a population ultimately depends on the rate of incorporation of beneficial mutations. Even beneficial mutations may, however, be lost from a population since mutant individuals may, by chance, fail to reproduce. In this paper, we calculate the probability of fixation of beneficial mutations that occur in populations of changing size. We examine a number of demographic models, including a population whose size changes once, a population experiencing exponential growth or decline, one that is experiencing logistic growth or decline, and a population that fluctuates in size. The results are based on a branching process model but are shown to be approximate solutions to the diffusion equation describing changes in the probability of fixation over time. Using the diffusion equation, the probability of fixation of deleterious alleles can also be determined for populations that are changing in size. The results developed in this paper can be used to estimate the fixation flux, defined as the rate at which beneficial alleles fix within a population. The fixation flux measures the rate of adaptive evolution of a population and, as we shall see, depends strongly on changes that occur in population size.

scholarly journals A branching process model for the analysis of abortive colony size distributions in carbon ion-irradiated normal human fibroblasts

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Sakashita ◽  
N. Hamada ◽  
I. Kawaguchi ◽  
T. Hara ◽  
Y. Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colony Size ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Branching Process ◽  
Human Fibroblasts ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Carbon Ion ◽  
Normal Human

scholarly journals Host Insect Inhibitor-of-Apoptosis SfIAP Functionally Replaces Baculovirus IAP but Is Differentially Regulated by Its N-Terminal Leader

2010 ◽  
Vol 84 (21) ◽  
pp. 11448-11460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Cerio ◽  
Rianna Vandergaast ◽  
Paul D. Friesen
Keyword(s):  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Biochemical Properties ◽  
Inhibitor Of Apoptosis ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Host Insect ◽  
Orgyia Pseudotsugata ◽  
Induced Apoptosis ◽  
Lepidopteran Host ◽  
Maximal Stability

ABSTRACT The inhibitor-of-apoptosis (IAP) proteins encoded by baculoviruses bear a striking resemblance to the cellular IAP homologs of their invertebrate hosts. By virtue of the acquired selective advantage of blocking virus-induced apoptosis, baculoviruses may have captured cellular IAP genes that subsequently evolved for virus-specific objectives. To compare viral and host IAPs, we defined antiapoptotic properties of SfIAP, the principal cellular IAP of the lepidopteran host Spodoptera frugiperda. We report here that SfIAP prevented virus-induced apoptosis as well as viral Op-IAP3 (which is encoded by the Orgyia pseudotsugata nucleopolyhedrovirus) when overexpressed from the baculovirus genome. Like Op-IAP3, SfIAP blocked apoptosis at a step prior to caspase activation. Both of the baculovirus IAP repeats (BIRs) were required for SfIAP function. Moreover, deletion of the C-terminal RING motif generated a loss-of-function SfIAP that interacted and dominantly interfered with wild-type SfIAP. Like Op-IAP3, wild-type SfIAP formed intracellular homodimers, suggesting that oligomerization is a functional requirement for both cellular and viral IAPs. SfIAP possesses a ∼100-residue N-terminal leader domain, which is absent among all viral IAPs. Remarkably, deletion of the leader yielded a fully functional SfIAP with dramatically increased protein stability. Thus, the SfIAP leader contains an instability motif that may confer regulatory options for cellular IAPs that baculovirus IAPs have evolved to bypass for maximal stability and antiapoptotic potency. Our findings that SfIAP and viral IAPs have common motifs, share multiple biochemical properties including oligomerization, and act at the same step to block apoptosis support the hypothesis that baculoviral IAPs were derived by acquisition of host insect IAPs.

scholarly journals Simulating the impact of vaccination rates on the initial stages of a COVID-19 outbreak in New Zealand (Aotearoa) with a stochastic model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leighton M Watson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Stochastic Model ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Branching Process ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Median Number ◽  
Vaccination Rate ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels

Aim: The August 2021 COVID-19 outbreak in Auckland has caused the New Zealand government to transition from an elimination strategy to suppression, which relies heavily on high vaccination rates in the population. As restrictions are eased and as COVID-19 leaks through the Auckland boundary, there is a need to understand how different levels of vaccination will impact the initial stages of COVID-19 outbreaks that are seeded around the country. Method: A stochastic branching process model is used to simulate the initial spread of a COVID-19 outbreak for different vaccination rates. Results: High vaccination rates are effective at minimizing the number of infections and hospitalizations. Increasing vaccination rates from 20% (approximate value at the start of the August 2021 outbreak) to 80% (approximate proposed target) of the total population can reduce the median number of infections that occur within the first four weeks of an outbreak from 1011 to 14 (25th and 75th quantiles of 545-1602 and 2-32 for V=20% and V=80%, respectively). As the vaccination rate increases, the number of breakthrough infections (infections in fully vaccinated individuals) and hospitalizations of vaccinated individuals increases. Unvaccinated individuals, however, are 3.3x more likely to be infected with COVID-19 and 25x more likely to be hospitalized. Conclusion: This work demonstrates the importance of vaccination in protecting individuals from COVID-19, preventing high caseloads, and minimizing the number of hospitalizations and hence limiting the pressure on the healthcare system.

scholarly journals Application of CRISPR/Cas9 Tools for Genome Editing in the White-Rot Fungus Dichomitus squalens

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1526
Author(s):  
Joanna E. Kowalczyk ◽  
Shreya Saha ◽  
Miia R. Mäkelä
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
White Rot ◽  
White Rot Fungus ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Dichomitus Squalens

Dichomitus squalens is an emerging reference species that can be used to investigate white-rot fungal plant biomass degradation, as it has flexible physiology to utilize different types of biomass as sources of carbon and energy. Recent comparative (post-) genomic studies on D. squalens resulted in an increasingly detailed knowledge of the genes and enzymes involved in the lignocellulose breakdown in this fungus and showed a complex transcriptional response in the presence of lignocellulose-derived compounds. To fully utilize this increasing amount of data, efficient and reliable genetic manipulation tools are needed, e.g., to characterize the function of certain proteins in vivo and facilitate the construction of strains with enhanced lignocellulolytic capabilities. However, precise genome alterations are often very difficult in wild-type basidiomycetes partially due to extremely low frequencies of homology directed recombination (HDR) and limited availability of selectable markers. To overcome these obstacles, we assessed various Cas9-single guide RNA (sgRNA) ribonucleoprotein (RNP) -based strategies for selectable homology and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) -based gene editing in D. squalens. We also showed an induction of HDR-based genetic modifications by using single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides (ssODNs) in a basidiomycete fungus for the first time. This paper provides directions for the application of targeted CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing in D. squalens and other wild-type (basidiomycete) fungi.

scholarly journals An estimate of heterosis in Drosophila melanogaster

1971 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Sved
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Marker Chromosome ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Set Up

SUMMARYTwenty-five population cages of D. melanogaster were set up, each containing a different wild-type second chromosome and the marker chromosome Cy. In all but one case where contamination apparently occurred, the Cy chromosome persisted in the population at high frequency, showing a selective advantage of Cy/ + heterozygotes over wild-type homozygotes. Overall, the results indicate that homozygosity of the entire second chromosome causes a depression in fitness of the order of 85%.

scholarly journals Cancer recurrence times from a branching process model

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e1007423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Avanzini ◽  
Tibor Antal
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Branching Process ◽  
Cancer Recurrence ◽  
Recurrence Times
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