Multiallelic polymorphism maintained under unpredictable migration and selection

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Biology
• Population Genetics
• Mathematical Biology

Background:

• Protected polymorphism is crucial for evolutionary adaptation.
• Maintaining genetic diversity under dynamic environmental pressures is a key challenge.
• Previous models often simplified time-dependent factors like selection and migration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the problem of protected polymorphism under time-dependent selection and migration.
• To reformulate this problem as a C-viability problem.
• To compute the C-viability kernel for varying population structures and allele numbers.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the concept of the C-viability kernel to define the maintenance of polymorphism.
• Modeling protected polymorphism as a C-viability problem.
• Computing the C-viability kernel for systems with two and three demes and alleles under time-dependent, unpredictable selection and migration.

Main Results:

• The C-viability kernel computation provides a framework for understanding dynamic polymorphism maintenance.
• Results delineate the complex trade-offs between population isolation and migration.
• Relative fitness values are shown to interact with migration patterns in determining polymorphism stability.

Conclusions:

• Protected polymorphism can be dynamically maintained within defined constraints, even under unpredictable environmental changes.
• The C-viability approach offers a comprehensive solution to the problem of protected polymorphism in time-varying conditions.
• This study provides a full dimensionality answer to protected polymorphism in complex, time-varying scenarios.