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A Practical Guide to Phylogenetics for Nonexperts
Published on: February 5, 2014
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Phylogenetic divergence of cell biological features
1Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.
Elife
|June 22, 2018
Summary
Evolutionary cell biology faces challenges in explaining interspecific divergence. Models show mutation and drift can cause significant phenotypic divergence even without diversifying selection, mimicking adaptive shifts.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary cell biology
- Theoretical biology
- Population genetics
Background:
- Cellular features exhibit diverse states, posing challenges for evolutionary cell biology.
- Understanding the mechanisms of interspecific divergence is a key research question.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model the evolution of mean phenotypes under mutation, genetic drift, and constant selection.
- To investigate the role of population size in phenotypic divergence.
- To explore whether lineage-specific selection is necessary to explain cell-biological trait evolution.
Main Methods:
- Development of mathematical models for phenotype distribution.
- Analysis of evolutionary forces including mutation, genetic drift, and selection.
- Examination of the impact of effective population size on phenotypic divergence.
Main Results:
- Mean phenotypes can deviate from optimal states due to mutation and drift, influenced by effective population size.
- Substantial interspecific divergence can occur without diversifying selection.
- Steady-state distributions can be bimodal, suggesting apparent shifts between adaptive domains driven by mutation pressure.
Conclusions:
- Mutation and genetic drift alone can drive significant phenotypic divergence, challenging the necessity of lineage-specific selection.
- These findings offer a framework for developing null models in evolutionary cell biology.
- The study provides insights into the evolutionary dynamics of cell-biological traits.
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