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Related Experiment Videos

Less effective selection leads to larger genomes.

Tristan Lefébure1, Claire Morvan1, Florian Malard1

  • 1Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5023, ENTPE, Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France.

Genome Research
|April 21, 2017
PubMed
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Smaller effective population sizes in subterranean species reduce selection efficacy, leading to increased genome size due to less efficient purging of repetitive elements. This explains genome size variation in groundwater-dwelling isopods.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genomics
  • Population Genetics

Background:

  • Genome size variation in eukaryotes is poorly understood.
  • Effective population size influences selection efficacy and is hypothesized to drive genome size evolution.
  • Empirical investigation of this hypothesis has been challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that effective population size influences genome size evolution.
  • To investigate the mechanisms driving genome size increase in subterranean species.
  • To explore the relationship between selection efficacy, genome size, and repetitive element dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 22 de novo transcriptomes and low-coverage genomes from asellid isopods.
  • Comparison of surface-dwelling and subterranean species with independent habitat shifts.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Assessment of transcriptome-wide divergence (d N /d S) and repeat element invasion rates.
  • Evaluation of correlations between genome size, body size, growth rate, and polymorphism.

    • Main Results:

    • Subterranean asellid isopods exhibit higher transcriptome-wide d N /d S ratios, indicating reduced selection efficacy.
    • Genome size significantly increases (25% on average) in subterranean isopods, correlated with reduced selection efficacy.
    • Increased genome size in subterranean species is driven by higher invasion rates of repeat elements, less efficiently purged by purifying selection.
    • No correlation was found between genome size and body size or growth rate.

    Conclusions:

    • Reduced effective population size in subterranean environments lowers selection efficacy, facilitating genome size increase.
    • Genome size expansion in groundwater-dwelling isopods is primarily driven by the accumulation of repeat elements due to inefficient purifying selection.
    • Polymorphism data alone may obscure the relationship between effective population size and genome size due to demographic factors.