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Related Experiment Videos

Selection in modular organisms: is intraclonal variation in macroalgae evolutionarily important?

Keyne Monro1, Alistair G B Poore

  • 1School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, New South Wales, Australia. k.monro@student.unsw.edu.au

The American Naturalist
|May 4, 2004
PubMed
Summary

In modular organisms like red algae, individual modules can evolve. Studies on Delisea pulchra and Asparagopsis armata show modules have heritable variation, allowing selection to drive evolutionary change in asexual lineages.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Marine Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Defining units of selection is challenging in modular organisms that grow via repeated parts (modules).
  • Modules can become autonomous and exhibit variation due to somatic genetic changes.
  • Asexual reproduction in these organisms allows for heritable variation and selection among progeny.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if modules in red algae (Delisea pulchra and Asparagopsis armata) meet criteria for units of selection.
  • To assess phenotypic variation, heritability, and selective pressures acting on algal modules.
  • To determine the potential for evolutionary change within asexual lineages at the module level.

Main Methods:

  • Studied branching red algae Delisea pulchra and Asparagopsis armata.

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  • Assessed fitness-related traits: growth, secondary metabolite concentrations, and herbivory rates.
  • Quantified phenotypic variation and heritability of traits among modules within individuals.

    • Main Results:

    • Significant phenotypic variation was found in fitness traits across modules for both species.
    • Significant heritability was detected for secondary metabolite production and herbivory rates in D. pulchra.
    • A. armata showed mostly phenotypic variation in growth, with some heritable genetic variation.

    Conclusions:

    • Selection can act on phenotypic variation among modules within an individual.
    • Evolutionary change within asexual lineages is possible if sufficient genetic variation exists in module traits.
    • Algal modules can function as units of selection, influencing evolutionary trajectories.