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Related Concept Videos

Limits to Natural Selection01:38

Limits to Natural Selection

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Organisms that are well-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. However, natural selection does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms. Several factors constrain natural selection.
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Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

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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.
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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...
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Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.
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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).
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 21, 2026

Rearing and Long-Term Maintenance of Eristalis tenax Hoverflies for Research Studies
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Positive and relaxed selection associated with flight evolution and loss in insect transcriptomes.

T Fatima Mitterboeck1,2, Shanlin Liu3,4, Sarah J Adamowicz1,2

  • 1Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1 Canada.

Gigascience
|October 13, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Insect flight evolution and loss show molecular signatures in specific gene categories. Genes involved in catabolism and splicing were key in flight origin, while flight loss relaxed selection on splicing and energy-related genes.

Keywords:
1KITE projectInsect transcriptomesflightflight lossmolecular evolutionpositive selection

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genomics
  • Molecular evolution

Background:

  • Powered flight is a key innovation driving insect success.
  • Previous research identified molecular signatures in energy genes related to flight evolution and loss in various taxa.
  • Understanding the genetic basis of flight gain and loss is crucial for insect evolutionary studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To broadly explore gene categories under positive and relaxed selection during insect flight origin and multiple independent flight losses.
  • To identify specific nuclear and mitochondrial genes associated with the evolution and loss of insect flight.
  • To investigate potential convergence in gene-specific selection pressures related to flight ability.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of DNA sequences from over 1000 nuclear and mitochondrial protein-coding genes from insect transcriptomes.
  • Detection of positive and relaxed selection signatures across gene categories.
  • Comparison of selection pressures in winged insects (Pterygota) versus flightless lineages and across insect developmental types (holometabolous).

Main Results:

  • Nuclear genes related to catabolic processes (e.g., proteases) and splicing were under positive selection in the lineage leading to winged insects.
  • Flight loss was associated with relaxed selection on splicing genes, mirroring flight evolution findings.
  • Mitochondrial genes in flightless lineages showed relaxed selection, indicated by higher nonsynonymous-to-synonymous substitution ratios.
  • Oxidative phosphorylation genes were under positive selection in holometabolous insects, but not specifically linked to flight origin.

Conclusions:

  • Insect flight evolution and loss are associated with distinct molecular signatures in specific gene categories.
  • There is evidence of convergent selection pressures on genes related to flight ability across different insect lineages.
  • The study provides new insights into gene categories potentially involved in the gain and loss of insect flight.