scholarly journals Extreme climatic events but not environmental heterogeneity shape within-population genetic variation in maritime pine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliette Archambeau ◽  
Marta Benito Garzón ◽  
Marina de Miguel Vega ◽  
Benjamin Brachi ◽  
Frédéric Barraquand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Maritime Pine ◽  
Heterogeneous Environments ◽  
Evolutionary Forces ◽  
Common Gardens ◽  
Quantitative Genetic ◽  
Population Genetic Variation

AbstractHow evolutionary forces interact to maintain quantitative genetic variation within populations has been a matter of extensive theoretical debates. While mutation and migration increase genetic variation, natural selection and genetic drift are expected to deplete it. To date, levels of genetic variation observed in natural populations are hard to predict without accounting for other processes, such as balancing selection in heterogeneous environments. We aimed to empirically test three hypotheses: (i) admixed populations have higher quantitative genetic variation due to introgression from other gene pools, (ii) quantitative genetic variation is lower in populations from harsher environments (i.e. experiencing stronger selection), and (iii) quantitative genetic variation is higher in populations from spatially heterogeneous environments. We used phenotypic measurements of five growth, phenological and functional traits from three clonal common gardens, consisting of 523 clones from 33 populations of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton). Populations from harsher climates (mainly colder areas) showed lower genetic variation for height in the three common gardens. Surprisingly, we did not find any association between within-population genetic variation and environmental heterogeneity or population admixture for any trait. Our results suggest a predominant role of natural selection in driving within-population genetic variation, and therefore indirectly their adaptive potential.

scholarly journals Spontaneous mutations and the origin and maintenance of quantitative genetic variation

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Huang ◽  
Richard F Lyman ◽  
Rachel A Lyman ◽  
Mary Anna Carbone ◽  
Susan T Harbison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Quantitative Traits ◽  
Spontaneous Mutation ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Stabilizing Selection ◽  
Spontaneous Mutation Rate ◽  
Evolutionary Forces ◽  
Quantitative Genetic

Mutation and natural selection shape the genetic variation in natural populations. Here, we directly estimated the spontaneous mutation rate by sequencing new Drosophila mutation accumulation lines maintained with minimal natural selection. We inferred strong stabilizing natural selection on quantitative traits because genetic variation among wild-derived inbred lines was much lower than predicted from a neutral model and the mutational effects were much larger than allelic effects of standing polymorphisms. Stabilizing selection could act directly on the traits, or indirectly from pleiotropic effects on fitness. However, our data are not consistent with simple models of mutation-stabilizing selection balance; therefore, further empirical work is needed to assess the balance of evolutionary forces responsible for quantitative genetic variation.

scholarly journals Long-Term Experimental Evolution in Escherichia coli. VI. Environmental Constraints on Adaptation and Divergence

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 146 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Travisano
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Experimental Evolution ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Environmental Constraints ◽  
Asymmetric Pattern ◽  
Nutrient Environment ◽  
Mean Fitness ◽  
Population Genetic Variation

The effect of environment on adaptation and divergence was examined in two sets of populations of Escherichia coli selected for 1000 generations in either maltose- or glucose-limited media. Twelve replicate populations selected in maltose-limited medium improved in fitness in the selected environment, by an average of 22.5%. Statistically significant among-population genetic variation for fitness was observed during the course of the propagation, but this variation was small relative to the fitness improvement. Mean fitness in a novel nutrient environment, glucose-limited medium, improved to the same extent as in the selected environment, with no statistically significant among-population genetic variation. In contrast, 12 replicate populations previously selected for 1000 generations in glucose-limited medium showed no improvement, as a group, in fitness in maltose-limited medium and substantial genetic variation. This asymmetric pattern of correlated responses suggests that small changes in the environment can have profound effects on adaptation and divergence.

scholarly journals Patterns of population genetic variation in sympatric chiltoniid amphipods within a calcrete aquifer reveal a dynamic subterranean environment

Heredity ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
T M Bradford ◽  
M Adams ◽  
M T Guzik ◽  
W F Humphreys ◽  
A D Austin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Population Genetic Variation ◽  
Subterranean Environment

Quantifying genetic variation at the molecular level

2019 ◽  
pp. 34-66
Author(s):  
Asher D. Cutter
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Migration Rate ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Fundamental Properties ◽  
Site Frequency Spectrum ◽  
Population Genetic Variation

Chapter 3, “Quantifying genetic variation at the molecular level,” introduces quantitative methods for measuring variation directly in DNA sequences to help decipher fundamental properties of populations and what they can tell us about evolution. It provides an overview of the evolutionary factors that contribute to genetic variation, like mutational input, effective population size, genetic drift, migration rate, and models of migration. This chapter surveys the principal ways to measure and summarize polymorphisms within a single population and across multiple populations of a species, including heterozygosity, nucleotide polymorphism estimators of θ‎, the site frequency spectrum, and F ST, and by providing illustrative natural examples. Populations are where evolution starts, after mutations arise as the spark of population genetic variation, and Chapter 3 describes how to quantify the variation to connect observations to predictions about how much polymorphism there ought to be under different circumstances.

The potential impact of mining on population genetic variation in the Banded Ironstone Formation endemic Tetratheca erubescens (Elaeocarpaceae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siegfried L. Krauss ◽  
Janet M. Anthony
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Allelic Variation ◽  
Continuous Distribution ◽  
Genetic Structuring ◽  
Expected Heterozygosity ◽  
Spatial Structuring ◽  
Genetic Clusters ◽  
Population Genetic Variation ◽  
Entire Distribution

Tetratheca erubescens is a narrowly endemic species including ~6300 plants restricted to a 2-km2 distribution on the south Koolyanobbing Range Banded Ironstone Formation (BIF) in Western Australia. A key objective of the present study was to characterise population genetic variation, and its spatial structuring across the entire distribution of T. erubescens, to enable a quantification of genetic variation that may be affected by proposed mining of the BIF. In total, 436 plants (~30 at each of 14 sites) from across the entire distribution were sampled, genotyped and scored for allelic variation at 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci. Fifty-nine alleles were detected (mean alleles per locus=5.36, range 2–10), and observed heterozygosity was low to moderate and typically lower than expected heterozygosity across all loci (mean observed heterozygosity (Ho)=0.41, mean expected heterozygosity (He)=0.48). Given the restricted distribution of T. erubescens, overall genetic structuring was surprisingly strong (overall FST=0.098). A range-wide spatial autocorrelation analysis indicated a significant positive genetic correlation at distances up to 450m, largely corresponding to the scale of more-or-less continuous distribution within each of two geographic clusters. In support, a STRUCTURE analysis identified an optimal number of genetic clusters as K=2, with assignment of individuals to one of two genetic clusters corresponding with the main geographic clusters. The genetic impact of proposed mining on T. erubescens was assessed on the basis of identifying plants within the proposed mine footprint (all plants from 4 of 14 sites). Repeating analyses of genetic variation after removal of these samples, and comparing to the complete dataset adjusted for sample size, resulted in the loss of one (very rare: overall frequency=0.001) allele (i.e. 58 of 59 alleles (98.3%) were recovered). All other parameters of genetic variation (mean Na, Ne, I, Ho, He, F) were unaffected. Consequently, although up to 22% of all plants fall within the mine footprint and, therefore, may be lost, <2% of alleles detected will be lost, and other genetic parameters remained unaffected. Although these results suggest that the proposed mining will result in a negligible impact on the assessed genetic variation and its spatial structuring in T. erubescens, further research on impacts to, and management of, quantitative genetic variation and key population genetic processes is required.

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