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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
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A model of developmental evolution: selection, pleiotropy and compensation.

Mihaela Pavlicev1, Günter P Wagner

  • 1Department of Theoretical Biology, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. mihaela.pavlicev@univie.ac.at

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|March 6, 2012
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Summary

Genetic variation influences traits through development, impacting gene effects (pleiotropy). The Selection, Pleiotropy, and Compensation (SPC) model explains adaptive evolution by proposing compensatory changes for deleterious pleiotropic effects.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Genetic variation translates into phenotypic variation via development, defining the genotype-phenotype map.
  • Pleiotropy, where a single gene affects multiple characters, is central to this mapping.
  • Understanding variation in pleiotropy is key to understanding evolutionary adaptation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To discuss evidence for variation in pleiotropy.
  • To propose the Selection, Pleiotropy, and Compensation (SPC) model for adaptive evolution.
  • To offer a unifying perspective on phenomena like developmental systems drift and character homogenization.

Main Methods:

  • Review of evidence for variation in pleiotropy.
  • Theoretical modeling through the proposal of the SPC model.
  • Discussion of implications for interpreting genome scan data.

Main Results:

  • Adaptive evolution involves trade-offs: changes in one character are linked to detrimental pleiotropic effects on others.
  • Subsequent selection acts to compensate for these detrimental pleiotropic effects.
  • The SPC model explains phenomena such as developmental systems drift and character homogenization.

Conclusions:

  • The SPC model provides a framework for understanding adaptive evolution driven by pleiotropy and compensation.
  • Most adaptive signatures in genome scans may arise from compensatory changes, not direct character adaptations.
  • This perspective reframes our understanding of evolutionary genetic mechanisms.