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Molecular Evolution of the Tre Recombinase
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Repeated evolution of self-compatibility for reproductive assurance
Bart P S Nieuwenhuis1,2, Sergio Tusso3,4, Pernilla Bjerling5
1Department of Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, Uppsala, SE-752 36, Sweden. nieuwenhuis@bio.lmu.de.
Nature Communications
|April 26, 2018
Summary
Evolutionary strategies like mating-type switching balance reproductive assurance with fitness costs. This study reveals how conditions favor self-compatibility over separate mating types in eukaryotes.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Genetics
- Microbiology
Background:
- Sexual reproduction requires compatible gametes, driving evolution of strategies like hermaphroditism and self-fertilization.
- Mating-type switching is a key mechanism influencing reproductive strategies in eukaryotes.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate conditions favoring separate mating types versus self-compatibility via mating-type switching.
- Understand the evolutionary dynamics of mating-type switching using comparative genomics, simulations, and experimental evolution.
Main Methods:
- Comparative genomics to analyze natural populations.
- Computer simulations to model evolutionary dynamics.
- Experimental evolution in fission yeast to observe adaptation.
Main Results:
- Novel switching genotypes rapidly evolved under selection in experimental populations.
- Fitness measurements revealed trade-offs of switching in sexual and asexual reproduction.
- Genomic changes mediate transitions between switching and non-switching strategies.
Conclusions:
- The evolution of self-compatibility involves a trade-off between reproductive assurance and fitness costs.
- Environmental conditions, particularly benign ones, facilitate the evolution of self-compatibility through mating-type switching.
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