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    Defining individuality is complex for organisms with intricate life cycles. This study proposes a gene-centric view of fitness to predict evolutionary changes across different life stages.

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    Area of Science:

    • Evolutionary biology
    • Genetics
    • Developmental biology

    Background:

    • Complex life cycles are prevalent in eukaryotes, posing challenges to defining biological individuality.
    • Traditional concepts of fitness may not adequately capture evolutionary dynamics in organisms with distinct life stages.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To re-evaluate the concept of biological fitness from a gene-centric perspective.
    • To develop a framework for understanding fitness in the context of complex life cycles.
    • To predict evolutionary trajectories in populations with complex life histories.

    Main Methods:

    • A bottom-up, gene-centric analytical approach.
    • Analysis of fitness effects of alleles or traits across different biological units within a life history.
    • Modeling evolutionary change based on differential fitness contributions.

    Main Results:

    • Fitness effects can vary significantly across different life stages or biological units within a complex life cycle.
    • A gene-centric approach reveals how selection acts on alleles influencing these varied effects.
    • The study identifies key factors that determine the net fitness outcome for an allele.

    Conclusions:

    • A revised concept of fitness is necessary to accurately predict evolution in organisms with complex life cycles.
    • Understanding fitness requires considering the fitness contributions of genes across all life stages.
    • This gene-centric framework offers a more robust model for evolutionary analysis in diverse eukaryotic organisms.