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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
Published on: February 3, 2023
Genomics in the light of evolutionary transitions
Pierre M Durand1, Richard E Michod
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 1041 East Lowell Street, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. pdurand@email.arizona.edu
Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|November 26, 2009
Summary
The genome, not just genes, is a key evolutionary unit. Multilevel selection theory explains genome evolution as a major transition, offering new insights into early life and genomic ecology.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Genomics
- Molecular evolution
Background:
- The gene is traditionally viewed as the fundamental unit of heredity.
- Genomic data suggests a more complex role for the genome in life's hierarchy.
- Current models often overlook the genome's evolutionary significance, treating its origin as nonadaptive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a Darwinian multilevel selection framework for genome origin and evolution.
- To reframe the genome as a distinct evolutionary unit.
- To explore the gene-genome juncture as a major evolutionary transition.
Main Methods:
- Applying multilevel selection theory to cooperative gene interactions (hypercycles).
- Utilizing predictions of gene-level trade-offs driving evolutionary transitions.
- Analyzing genomic data, particularly mobile genetic elements, as a case study.
Main Results:
- A new conceptualization of the genome as a discrete evolutionary unit.
- Evidence supporting gene-level trade-offs in viability and reproduction as drivers of genome evolution.
- Mobile genetic elements serve as a test case for the proposed framework.
Conclusions:
- The origin and evolution of the genome represent a major evolutionary transition in individuality.
- This perspective shifts focus from genes to the genome as a unit of selection.
- Opens avenues for research in the evolutionary ecology of the genome.
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