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Stronger Evidence for Relaxed Selection Than Adaptive Evolution in High-elevation Animal mtDNA.

Erik N K Iverson1, Abby Criswell1, Justin C Havird1

  • 1Department of Integrative Biology, the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.

Molecular Biology and Evolution
|March 21, 2025
PubMed
Summary

High-elevation species show faster mitochondrial DNA evolution, but this is likely due to relaxed purifying selection linked to smaller ranges, not adaptation. Rigorous testing of non-adaptive hypotheses is crucial for mitochondrial genomes.

Keywords:
adaptationaltitudeelevationmitochondriaselection

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Molecular evolution
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Mitochondrial (mt) genes are central to energy production and metabolism.
  • Adaptive hypotheses suggest high-elevation environments drive rapid mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) evolution via positive selection.
  • The role of relaxed purifying selection versus positive selection in mtDNA evolution remains under-tested.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that high elevation drives positive selection on mtDNA.
  • To investigate whether relaxed purifying selection explains elevated mtDNA evolutionary rates in high-elevation species.
  • To examine the relationship between environmental factors, range size, body mass, and mtDNA evolutionary rates (dN/dS).

Main Methods:

  • Calculated the dN/dS ratio, a measure of nonsynonymous substitution bias.
  • Analyzed mtDNA from over 700 species of terrestrial vertebrates, freshwater fishes, and arthropods.
  • Correlated dN/dS ratios with elevation, latitudinal range limits, range sizes, and body sizes.

Main Results:

  • High-elevation taxa exhibited slightly higher dN/dS ratios than low-elevation relatives.
  • Smaller range sizes predicted higher dN/dS ratios, indicating relaxed selection.
  • Absolute elevation and latitude did not predict dN/dS; body mass positively correlated with dN/dS, suggesting relaxed selection due to smaller effective population size.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated mt dN/dS in high-elevation species is more likely attributed to relaxed selection from smaller ranges and reduced effective population size.
  • The findings challenge the assumption of positive selection driving mtDNA evolution at high elevations.
  • Emphasizes the necessity of testing non-adaptive explanations for observed patterns in mitochondrial genome evolution.