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Interaction between mutation type and gene pleiotropy drives parallel evolution in the laboratory.

Philip Ruelens1,2,3, Thomas Wynands1, J Arjan G M de Visser1

  • 1Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|April 2, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary repeatability is enhanced by non-disruptive single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in highly pleiotropic genes. These mutations offer greater fitness benefits than other mutation types, especially in large populations.

Keywords:
Escherichia coliFisher's geometric modelexperimental evolutionpleiotropyrepeatability

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genetics
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Evolutionary repeatability, the tendency for similar evolutionary outcomes to occur repeatedly, is a central question in biology.
  • Pleiotropy, where a single gene influences multiple traits, is hypothesized to influence evolutionary repeatability by affecting mutation availability and fitness benefits.
  • Understanding the interplay between pleiotropy and mutation type is crucial for predicting evolutionary trajectories.

Approach:

  • A meta-analysis of experimental evolution studies in Escherichia coli was conducted.
  • Gene connectivity was used as a proxy to measure gene pleiotropy.
  • The fitness effects of different mutation types (SNPs, indels, SVs) in genes with varying pleiotropy were analyzed.

Key Points:

  • Non-disruptive single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in highly pleiotropic genes confer the largest fitness benefits.
  • These SNPs contribute more significantly to parallel evolution than inactivating SNPs, indels, and structural variants (SVs).
  • The impact of these mutations on fitness is more pronounced in larger populations.

Conclusions:

  • The genetic architecture of a gene, specifically its pleiotropy, significantly interacts with mutation type to shape evolutionary repeatability.
  • Targeting highly pleiotropic genes with non-disruptive SNPs is a key mechanism for achieving substantial fitness gains and promoting parallel evolution.
  • Future research should integrate genetic architecture and mutation type to better predict evolutionary outcomes.