Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The evolutionary advantage of recombination.

J Felsenstein

    Genetics
    |October 1, 1974
    PubMed
    Summary

    Recombination provides an evolutionary advantage by breaking down genetic linkage disequilibrium, preventing interference between gene loci. This mechanism, including the Muller ratchet, explains recombination's persistence and origin.

    Related Concept Videos

    You might also read

    Related Articles

    Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

    Sort by
    Same author

    Coalescents, Phylogenies, and Likelihoods.

    The Biological bulletin·2017
    Same author

    The troubled growth of statistical phylogenetics.

    Systematic biology·2002
    Same author

    Taking variation of evolutionary rates between sites into account in inferring phylogenies.

    Journal of molecular evolution·2001
    Same author

    Maximum likelihood estimation of a migration matrix and effective population sizes in n subpopulations by using a coalescent approach.

    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2001
    Same author

    Maximum likelihood estimation of recombination rates from population data.

    Genetics·2000
    Same author

    Sampling among haplotype resolutions in a coalescent-based genealogy sampler.

    Genetic epidemiology·2000

    Area of Science:

    • Evolutionary biology
    • Population genetics

    Background:

    • The evolutionary advantage of genetic recombination has been debated, with differing conclusions based on population models.
    • Fisher and Muller initially proposed an advantage, but later models with infinite populations found none.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To review the controversy surrounding the evolutionary advantage of recombination.
    • To reconcile differing theoretical findings and verify the mechanisms through simulations.

    Main Methods:

    • Review of historical theoretical models (Fisher, Muller, Hill, Robertson).
    • Computer simulations to test the effects of recombination on mutant substitution and accumulation of deleterious mutations.

    Main Results:

    • Recombination breaks down linkage disequilibrium caused by genetic drift, which interferes with selection.
    • Simulations confirmed the Fisher-Muller argument and the Muller ratchet mechanism (accumulation of deleterious mutations without recombination).

    Conclusions:

    • Recombination offers an intrinsic evolutionary advantage by mitigating interference and preventing Muller's ratchet.
    • These advantages likely account for recombination's persistence and potential origin in populations.

    Related Experiment Videos