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Phenotypic Plasticity Promotes Balanced Polymorphism in Periodic Environments by a Genomic Storage Effect
Davorka Gulisija1, Yuseob Kim2, Joshua B Plotkin3
1Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104.
Genetics
|February 10, 2016
Summary
Phenotypic plasticity can maintain genetic diversity by creating a "genomic storage effect." This occurs when alleles at linked genes combine, persisting through environmental changes and promoting adaptation in varying habitats.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Population genetics
- Genetics
Background:
- Phenotypic plasticity evolves in disturbed environments, mitigating selection's negative impacts.
- The influence of plasticity on genetic polymorphism, crucial for adaptation in fluctuating environments, remains poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how phenotypic plasticity affects genetic polymorphism levels.
- To model the interaction between a plasticity modifier locus and a target locus under periodic selection.
Main Methods:
- Developed a haploid, two-locus population-genetic model.
- Employed Monte Carlo simulations and analytical approximations.
- Analyzed the interplay between a plasticity modifier and a target locus.
Main Results:
- A
- genomic storage effect
- was identified, promoting balanced polymorphism across broad parameter ranges.
- This effect maintains genetic variation independently of other known mechanisms.
- Recombination facilitates the escape of beneficial allele combinations, creating persistent haplotypes.
Conclusions:
- Phenotypic plasticity can be a significant driver of genetic variation.
- The
- genomic storage effect
- highlights a novel mechanism for maintaining polymorphism in changing environments.
- This finding has implications for understanding evolutionary adaptation in dynamic ecosystems.
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