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Variation in mutational (co)variances.

François Mallard1, Luke Noble1, Charles F Baer2

  • 1Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, CNRS UMR 8197, Inserm U1024, F-75005 Paris, France.

G3 (Bethesda, Md.)
|December 22, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Mutational pleiotropy influences trait evolution. Researchers found that while mutation accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans showed significant mutational variance, differences between genotypes were not detectable, suggesting short-term selection doesn't shape the M matrix.

Keywords:
Caenorhabditis elegansG-matrixM-matrixexperimental evolutionlocomotion behaviormultivariate selectiontransition rates

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary genetics
  • Quantitative genetics
  • Developmental biology

Background:

  • Pleiotropy, where mutations affect multiple traits, is a key factor in evolutionary processes.
  • Understanding mutational variances and covariances (M matrix) is crucial for predicting phenotypic divergence.
  • Previous studies have not fully elucidated how M matrices differ across genotypes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate and compare the M matrices for locomotion behavior traits in two Caenorhabditis elegans genotypes.
  • To investigate whether the M matrix varies between genotypes after mutation accumulation.
  • To compare the M matrix with the G matrix (standing genetic covariances) of a domesticated lab population.

Main Methods:

  • Mutation accumulation (MA) lines were generated in two Caenorhabditis elegans genotypes over 250 generations.
  • The M matrix, describing mutational variances and covariances for six locomotion traits, was estimated for each genotype.
  • The estimated M matrices were compared to each other and to the G matrix of a lab-domesticated population.

Main Results:

  • Significant mutational variance was detected in the M matrices for locomotion traits.
  • No detectable differences were found in the size or orientation of the M matrices between the two genotypes.
  • The M matrices differed significantly from the G matrix, with smaller genetic covariances due to pleiotropy compared to linkage disequilibrium in the lab population.

Conclusions:

  • Short-term mutation accumulation (250 generations) may be insufficient to reveal genotype-specific differences in the M matrix.
  • Selection does not appear to shape the M matrix for locomotion behavior in the short term.
  • Hybridization of genotypes in a lab population may facilitate selection on new phenotypic dimensions of locomotion behavior.