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Types of Selection

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...

Frequency-dependent Selection

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

Genetics of Speciation

Genetics of Speciation

Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).

Gene Flow

Gene Flow

Gene flow is the transfer of genes among populations, resulting from either the dispersal of gametes or from the migration of individuals.

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Neutral and Selective Processes Drive Population Differentiation for Iris hexagona.

Jennafer A P Hamlin¹, Michael L Arnold²

¹From the Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, 120 East Green St., Davison Life Sciences Building, Athens, GA (Arnold) and the Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA (Hamlin). jenhamli@iu.edu.

The Journal of Heredity

|July 12, 2015

Summary

Geographic distance and local adaptation shape Iris hexagona evolution. Both neutral processes and selection influence population divergence, with markers linked to morphology and climate indicating adaptation drivers.

Keywords:

Louisiana irises environmental variation local adaptation morphological divergence outlier SNPs population genetics

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Area of Science:

Population Genetics
Evolutionary Biology
Plant Sciences

Background:

Gene flow is influenced by geographic distance and divergent selection due to local adaptation.
Understanding factors driving population divergence is crucial for evolutionary studies.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate phenotypic and genotypic divergence in 8 populations of Iris hexagona.
To identify the roles of neutral processes and selection in shaping population genetic structure.
To determine if pollinators or climate drive population differentiation.

Main Methods:

Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach to generate 750 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
Population genetic analyses comparing neutral and nonneutral SNPs.
Association analysis of genetic differentiation with morphological and climatic variables.

Main Results:

Significant differences in genetic differentiation were detected between neutral and nonneutral SNPs.
Two markers associated with morphology and one with environmental variables were identified as outliers.
SNPs under selection correlated positively with geographic and phenotypic distance, while neutral SNPs showed isolation-by-distance.

Conclusions:

Both deterministic (selection) and neutral processes contribute to the evolutionary trajectory of Iris hexagona populations.
Evidence suggests local adaptation driven by morphology and climate influences genetic divergence.
Isolation-by-distance is a significant factor for neutral genetic variation.