New views on the selection acting on genetic polymorphism in central metabolic genes

Studies of the polymorphism of central metabolic genes as a source of fitness variation in natural populations date back to the discovery of allozymes in the 1960s. The unique features of these genes and their enzymes and our knowledge base greatly facilitates the systems-level study of this group. The expectation that pathway flux control is central to understanding the molecular evolution of genes is discussed, as well as studies that attempt to place gene-specific molecular evolution and polymorphism into a context of pathway and network architecture. There is an increasingly complex picture of the metabolic genes assuming additional roles beyond their textbook anabolic and catabolic reactions. In particular, this review emphasizes the potential role of these genes as part of the energy-sensing machinery. It is underscored that the concentrations of key cellular metabolites are the reflections of cellular energy status and nutritional input. These metabolites are the top-down signaling messengers that set signaling through signaling pathways that are involved in energy economy. I propose that the polymorphisms in central metabolic genes shift metabolite concentrations and in that fashion act as genetic modifiers of the energy-state coupling to the transcriptional networks that affect physiological trade-offs with significant fitness consequences.