scholarly journals GENETIC VARIABILITY AND RATE OF GENE SUBSTITUTION IN A FINITE POPULATION UNDER MUTATION AND FLUCTUATING SELECTION

Genetics ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-440
Author(s):  
Naoyuki Takahata

ABSTRACT By using a numerical method of solving stochastic difference equations, the level of genetic variability maintained in a finite population and the rate of gene substitution under several models of fluctuating selection intensities were studied. It is shown that mutation and random genetic drift both play an important role in determining genetic variability and the rate of gene substitution. Compared with the case of neutral mutations, the fluctuation of selection intensity caused by temporal and spatial heterogeneity of environments generally increases the rate of gene substitution, but the level of genetic variability may be increased or decreased, depending upon the model and the parameters used. Although such a type of selection per se can not be ruled out, when mutation is taken into account, it is difficult to explain both the observed amount of genetic variability and the rough constancy of evolutionary rate within a framework of fluctuating selection models.

1973 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Bulmer

SUMMARYThe results of a previous paper on the effect of optimizing selection, mutation and drift on a metric character determined by a large number of loci have been extended to include the possibility that, in addition to selection for an optimal value, there may be independent selection in favour of heterozygotes; it is assumed for simplicity that at each locus the heterozygote has the same advantage, s, over each of the homozygotes. Under selection alone there is a stable equilibrium if s > ca2, where c is a measure of the intensity of the optimizing selection and a is the effect of a gene substitution. Under the additional forces exerted by mutation and by drift due to finite population size each locus behaves independently of the other loci as if it had a heterozygous advantage equal to (s − ca2).


Genetics ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 441-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Maruyama ◽  
Masatoshi Nei

ABSTRACT Mathematical properties of the overdominance model with mutation and random genetic drift are studied by using the method of stochastic differential equations (Itô and McKean 1974). It is shown that overdominant selection is very powerful in increasing the mean heterozygosity as compared with neutral mutations, and if 2Ns (N = effective population size; s = selective disadvantage for homozygotes) is larger than 10, a very low mutation rate is sufficient to explain the observed level of allozyme polymorphism. The distribution of heterozygosity for overdominant genes is considerably different from that of neutral mutations, and if the ratio of selection coefficient (s) to mutation rate (ν) is large and the mean heterozygosity (h) is lower than 0.2, single-locus heterozygosity is either approximately 0 or 0.5. If h increases further, however, heterozygosity shows a multiple-peak distribution. Reflecting this type of distribution, the relationship between the mean and variance of heterozygosity is considerably different from that for neutral genes. When s/v is large, the proportion of polymorphic loci increases approximately linearly with mean heterozygosity. The distribution of allele frequencies is also drastically different from that of neutral genes, and generally shows a peak at the intermediate gene frequency. Implications of these results on the maintenance of allozyme polymorphism are discussed.


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