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Molecular Evolution of the Tre Recombinase
Published on: May 29, 2008
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Evolvability of an Optimal Recombination Rate
Alexander E Lobkovsky1, Yuri I Wolf1, Eugene V Koonin2
1National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Genome Biology and Evolution
|December 15, 2015
Summary
Genetic recombination
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- The evolution and maintenance of genetic recombination is a fundamental problem in evolutionary biology.
- It is closely linked to the evolution of evolvability and the mutational process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore a stochastic model for the evolution of genetic recombination.
- To investigate the relationship between recombination, epistasis, and mutation effects.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a stochastic model with additive fitness and infinite allele assumptions.
- Analyzed the model without prior assumptions on epistasis or mutation effect distributions.
Main Results:
- Fluctuating negative epistasis and deleterious mutations naturally arise in the model.
- Recombination intensity showed a nonmonotonic effect on fitness, with an optimal rate maximizing steady-state fitness.
- The optimal recombination rate was dependent on mutation rate and was subject to selection (evolvable).
Conclusions:
- The model's predictions align with observed relationships between genome rearrangement and gene flux in microbial genomes.
- Optimal recombination rates are influenced by mutation rates and are evolvable traits.
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