scholarly journals Distinct patterns of selective sweep and polygenic adaptation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neda Barghi ◽  
Christian Schlötterer

AbstractThe central paradigm of molecular population genetics is selective sweeps, where targets of selection have independent effects on the phenotype and quickly rise to fixation. In quantitative genetics, many loci contribute epistatically to adaptation and subtle frequency changes occur at many loci. Since both paradigms could result in a sweep-like genomic signature, additional criteria are needed to distinguish them. Using the framework of experimental evolution, we performed computer simulations to study the pattern of selected alleles under both paradigms. We identify several distinct patterns of selective sweeps and polygenic adaptation in populations of different sizes. These features could provide the foundation for development of quantitative approaches to differentiate the two paradigms.Author’s summaryThe selective sweep model assumes an independent frequency increase of favorable alleles and has been the basis of many tests for selection. While, polygenic adaptation is typically modelled by small frequency shifts in many loci. Recently, some theoretical and empirical work demonstrated that polygenic adaptation, similar to sweep, could also results in pronounced allele frequency changes. These results suggest that other distinct features need to be identified. Using computer simulations, we identified distinctive features for each paradigm that can be used to differentiate the sweep model from polygenic adaptation. Features such as allele frequency trajectories, time-series fitness, distribution of selected alleles on haplotypes, and parallelism among replicates can be used for development of suitable tests to distinguish between different adaptive architectures. These features provide the basis for theoretical modeling, design of selection experiments and data analysis.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 890-904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neda Barghi ◽  
Christian Schlötterer

Abstract In molecular population genetics, adaptation is typically thought to occur via selective sweeps, where targets of selection have independent effects on the phenotype and rise to fixation, whereas in quantitative genetics, many loci contribute to the phenotype and subtle frequency changes occur at many loci during polygenic adaptation. The sweep model makes specific predictions about frequency changes of beneficial alleles and many test statistics have been developed to detect such selection signatures. Despite polygenic adaptation is probably the prevalent mode of adaptation, because of the traditional focus on the phenotype, we are lacking a solid understanding of the similarities and differences of selection signatures under the two models. Recent theoretical and empirical studies have shown that both selective sweep and polygenic adaptation models could result in a sweep-like genomic signature; therefore, additional criteria are needed to distinguish the two models. With replicated populations and time series data, experimental evolution studies have the potential to identify the underlying model of adaptation. Using the framework of experimental evolution, we performed computer simulations to study the pattern of selected alleles for two models: 1) adaptation of a trait via independent beneficial mutations that are conditioned for fixation, that is, selective sweep model and 2) trait optimum model (polygenic adaptation), that is adaptation of a quantitative trait under stabilizing selection after a sudden shift in trait optimum. We identify several distinct patterns of selective sweep and trait optimum models in populations of different sizes. These features could provide the foundation for development of quantitative approaches to differentiate the two models.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choongwon Jeong ◽  
David B. Witonsky ◽  
Buddha Basnyat ◽  
Maniraj Neupane ◽  
Cynthia M. Beall ◽  
...  

AbstractAdaptive evolution in humans has rarely been characterized for its whole set of components, i.e. selective pressure, adaptive phenotype, beneficial alleles and realized fitness differential. We combined approaches for detecting selective sweeps and polygenic adaptations and for mapping the genetic bases of physiological and fertility phenotypes in approximately 1000 indigenous ethnically Tibetan women from Nepal, adapted to high altitude. We performed genome-wide association analysis and tests for polygenic adaptations which showed evidence of positive selection for alleles associated with more pregnancies and live births and evidence of negative selection for those associated with higher offspring mortality. Lower hemoglobin level did not show clear evidence for polygenic adaptation, despite its strong association with an EPAS1 haplotype carrying selective sweep signals.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eirini Christodoulaki ◽  
Neda Barghi ◽  
Christian Schlötterer

AbstractPolygenic adaptation is frequently associated with small allele frequency changes of many loci. Recent works suggest, that large allele frequency changes can be also expected. Laboratory natural selection (LNS) experiments provide an excellent experimental framework to study the adaptive architecture under controlled laboratory conditions: time series data in replicate populations evolving independently to the same trait optimum can be used to identify selected loci. Nevertheless, the choice of the new trait optimum in the laboratory is typically an ad hoc decision without consideration of the distance of the starting population to the new optimum. Here, we used forward-simulations to study the selection signatures of polygenic adaptation in populations evolving to different trait optima. Mimicking LNS experiments we analyzed allele frequencies of the selected alleles and population fitness at multiple time points. We demonstrate that the inferred adaptive architecture strongly depends on the choice of the new trait optimum in the laboratory and the significance cut-off used for identification of selected loci. Our results not only have a major impact on the design of future Evolve and Resequence (E&R) studies, but also on the interpretation of current E&R data sets.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yair Field ◽  
Evan A Boyle ◽  
Natalie Telis ◽  
Ziyue Gao ◽  
Kyle J. Gaulton ◽  
...  

AbstractDetection of recent natural selection is a challenging problem in population genetics, as standard methods generally integrate over long timescales. Here we introduce the Singleton Density Score (SDS), a powerful measure to infer very recent changes in allele frequencies from contemporary genome sequences. When applied to data from the UK10K Project, SDS reflects allele frequency changes in the ancestors of modern Britons during the past 2,000 years. We see strong signals of selection at lactase and HLA, and in favor of blond hair and blue eyes. Turning to signals of polygenic adaptation we find, remarkably, that recent selection for increased height has driven allele frequency shifts across most of the genome. Moreover, we report suggestive new evidence for polygenic shifts affecting many other complex traits. Our results suggest that polygenic adaptation has played a pervasive role in shaping genotypic and phenotypic variation in modern humans.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjaya Gyawali ◽  
Gehendra Bhattarai ◽  
Ainong Shi ◽  
Chris Kik ◽  
Lindsey J. du Toit

Genotype-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to explore the genetic diversity and structure of Spinacia turkestanica, and the selective sweeps involved in domestication of cultivated spinach, S. oleracea, from S. turkestanica. A total 7,065 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated for 16 Spinacia oleracea and 76 S. turkestanica accessions placed the S. oleracea accessions in one group, Q1, and the 76 S. turkestanica accessions, which originated from Central Asia, in two distinct groups, Q2 and Q3. The Q2 group shared greater genetic identity with the S. oleracea accessions, Q1, than the Q3 S. turkestanica group. Likewise, the S. oleracea Q1 group had a smaller Fst (0.008) with the Q2 group than with the Q3 group (Fst = 0.012), and a greater gene flow (Nm = 30.13) with the Q2 group than with the Q3 group (Nm = 21.83). The Q2 accessions originated primarily from Uzbekistan while the Q3 accessions originated mostly from Tajikistan. The Zarafshan Mountain Range appears to have served as a physical barrier that largely separated members of the Q2 and Q3 groups of S. turkestanica. Accessions with admixtures of Q2 and Q3 were collected primarily from lower elevations at the southern end of the Zarafshan Mountain Range in Uzbekistan. Selective sweep regions identified at 32, 49, and 52 Mb on chromosomes 1, 2, and 3, respectively, appear to have played a vital role in the domestication of S. oleracea as they are correlated with important domestication traits, including day length sensitivity for bolting (flowering). High XP-CLR scores at the 52 Mb genomic region of chromosome three suggest that a selective sweep at this region was responsible for early differentiation of S. turkestanica into two groups in Central Asia.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlatko Galić ◽  
Violeta Anđelković ◽  
Natalija Kravić ◽  
Nikola Grčić ◽  
Tatjana Ledenčan ◽  
...  

AbstractMore than one third of European grain maize is produced in South Eastearn Europe (SEE) and utilization of historical maize material developed in SEE for its favorable alleles and diversity has long been speculated. However, molecular diversity of the SEE maize genetic material is scarce. The objectives of this study were i) to analyze diversity patterns in a large panel of densely genotyped historical accessions from SEE, ii) to compare the data with those obtained from other two European panels, and iii) to identify genomic regions that have undergone selection (selective sweeps) in response to adaptation to SEE conditions. 572 accessions of the historical inbred lines from Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje representing the SEE material were genotyped using the 600k maize genotyping Axiom array. The genotyping results were merged with two European panels DROPS and TUM. Genetic structure and diversity were analyzed using neighbor-joining cladogram, PcoA, Admixture, Structure and sNMF. To detect the selective sweep signals, Tajima’s D statistic and RAiSD were employed. The best number of ancestral populations was K=7, whereby one of them is a subpopulation containing inbreds belong exclusively to the SEE panel. The prevalence of inbreds linked to historical US inbred lines Wf9, Oh43, Pa91 and A374 was detected in SEE. Possible soft selective sweep was detected in chromosome 2 in region harboring a gene linked to promotion of flowering FPF1. Additional scan for selective sweeps using the RAiSD methodology yielded four signals in chromosomes 5 and 6, all in gene-rich regions. Several candidates of selection were identified, influencing the plant morphology and adaptation. Our study provides the first step towards the utilization of the SEE genetic materials for use in maize breeding. Phenotypic analysis is needed for assessment of SEE accessions for favorable alleles, and identification of breeding targets.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Garcia-Elfring ◽  
Antoine Paccard ◽  
Timothy J. Thurman ◽  
Ben A. Wasserman ◽  
Eric P. Palkovacs ◽  
...  

AbstractParallel evolution is considered strong evidence for natural selection. However, few studies have investigated the process of parallel selection as it plays out in real time. The common approach is to study historical signatures of selection in populations already well adapted to different environments. Here, to document selection in action under natural conditions, we study six populations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) inhabiting bar-built estuaries that undergo seasonal cycles of environmental changes. Estuaries are periodically isolated from the ocean due to sandbar formation during dry summer months, with concurrent environmental shifts that resemble the long-term changes associated with postglacial colonization of freshwater habitats by marine populations. We used pooled whole-genome sequencing (Pool-WGS) to track seasonal allele frequency changes in these populations and search for signatures of natural selection. We found consistent changes in allele frequency across estuaries, suggesting a potential role for parallel selection. Functional enrichment among candidate genes included transmembrane ion transport and calcium binding, which are important for osmoregulation and ion balance. The genomic changes that occur in threespine stickleback from bar-built estuaries could provide a glimpse into the early stages of adaptation that have occurred in many historical marine to freshwater transitions.


Genetics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 913-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Turelli ◽  
N H Barton

Abstract We develop a general population genetic framework for analyzing selection on many loci, and apply it to strong truncation and disruptive selection on an additive polygenic trait. We first present statistical methods for analyzing the infinitesimal model, in which offspring breeding values are normally distributed around the mean of the parents, with fixed variance. These show that the usual assumption of a Gaussian distribution of breeding values in the population gives remarkably accurate predictions for the mean and the variance, even when disruptive selection generates substantial deviations from normality. We then set out a general genetic analysis of selection and recombination. The population is represented by multilocus cumulants describing the distribution of haploid genotypes, and selection is described by the relation between mean fitness and these cumulants. We provide exact recursions in terms of generating functions for the effects of selection on non-central moments. The effects of recombination are simply calculated as a weighted sum over all the permutations produced by meiosis. Finally, the new cumulants that describe the next generation are computed from the non-central moments. Although this scheme is applied here in detail only to selection on an additive trait, it is quite general. For arbitrary epistasis and linkage, we describe a consistent infinitesimal limit in which the short-term selection response is dominated by infinitesimal allele frequency changes and linkage disequilibria. Numerical multilocus results show that the standard Gaussian approximation gives accurate predictions for the dynamics of the mean and genetic variance in this limit. Even with intense truncation selection, linkage disequilibria of order three and higher never cause much deviation from normality. Thus, the empirical deviations frequently found between predicted and observed responses to artificial selection are not caused by linkage-disequilibrium-induced departures from normality. Disruptive selection can generate substantial four-way disequilibria, and hence kurtosis; but even then, the Gaussian assumption predicts the variance accurately. In contrast to the apparent simplicity of the infinitesimal limit, data suggest that changes in genetic variance after 10 or more generations of selection are likely to be dominated by allele frequency dynamics that depend on genetic details.


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