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Related Experiment Videos

Transiently beneficial insertions could maintain mobile DNA sequences in variable environments.

Richard J Edwards1, John F Y Brookfield

  • 1Institute of Genetics, University of Nottingham, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, United Kingdom.

Molecular Biology and Evolution
|January 10, 2003
PubMed
Summary

This study models mobile DNA elements in clonal organisms. Environmental changes and selection allow selfish mobile DNA to persist, even reducing horizontal transfer

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genetics
  • Population dynamics

Background:

  • Mobile DNA sequences pose a paradox for maintenance in clonal organisms.
  • Bacterial transposable elements were thought to rely on horizontal transfer for persistence.
  • Advantageous insertions of mobile DNA are known in bacteria.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To model the maintenance of selfish mobile DNA in clonal species.
  • To investigate the role of temporally alternating environments and selection.
  • To understand the impact of horizontal transfer and population size on mobile DNA persistence.

Main Methods:

  • Mathematical modeling of mobile DNA dynamics.
  • Simulation of selection in alternating environments.
  • Analysis of horizontal transfer and population size effects.

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Main Results:

  • Large parameter spaces allow mobile DNA maintenance where it would otherwise go extinct without selection.
  • Horizontal transfer can decrease, rather than increase, mean copy number.
  • Selective sweeps in finite populations reduce effective population size, increasing mean copy number.

Conclusions:

  • Environmental fluctuations and selection are key to maintaining selfish mobile DNA in clonal populations.
  • Horizontal transfer is not always essential for mobile DNA persistence.
  • Population dynamics, including selective sweeps, significantly influence mobile DNA copy number.