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

Testing for epistasis between deleterious mutations

S A West1, A D Peters, N H Barton

  • 1Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom. stu.west@ed.ac.uk

Genetics
|May 28, 1998
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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

Establishment in a new habitat by polygenic adaptation.

Theoretical population biology·2017
Same author

The infinitesimal model: Definition, derivation, and implications.

Theoretical population biology·2017
Same author

A CHROMOSOMAL CLINE IN THE GRASSHOPPER PODISMA PEDESTRIS.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017
Same author

HABITAT PREFERENCE IN THE BOMBINA HYBRID ZONE IN CROATIA.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017
Same author

THE STRUCTURE OF THE HYBRID ZONE IN URODERMA BILOBATUM (CHIROPTERA: PHYLLOSTOMATIDAE).

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017
Same author

STABILIZING SELECTION AND VARIANCE IN FIG WASP SEX RATIOS.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017
Same journal

Inherited long telomeres induce a genome-wide transcriptional response in budding yeast.

Genetics·2026
Same journal

Adaptive Dynamics of Quantitative Traits in a Steadily Changing Environment.

Genetics·2026
Same journal

Functional Landscape of Zebrafish Gonadotropins and Receptors: A Comprehensive Genetic Analysis.

Genetics·2026
Same journal

Synergistic actions of Nup43 and Myosin VI drive actin cone assembly during Drosophila spermiogenesis.

Genetics·2026
Same journal

Identification of two Cryptococcus neoformans heme transporters involved in Fhb1-mediated nitrosative stress protection in a fission yeast model.

Genetics·2026
Same journal

Analysis of a hypomorphic mei-P26 mutation reveals coordination between developmental programming of germ cells and meiotic chromosome dynamics.

Genetics·2026
See all related articles

Understanding how harmful mutations interact (epistasis) is key to evolutionary biology. This study found that crossing individuals with diverse mutation loads is the most effective method for detecting epistasis and its impact on fitness.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Population Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Deleterious mutations can interact in various ways, influencing fitness.
  • Synergistic epistasis, where each additional mutation has a greater fitness cost, may favor sexual reproduction.
  • There is a lack of empirical data on mutation interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To formalize and evaluate experimental methods for detecting epistasis between deleterious mutations.
  • To identify the most effective method for assessing epistasis in haploid organisms.
  • To explore the applicability of these methods to diploid species.

Main Methods:

  • Formalization of three proposed experimental methods for epistasis testing.
  • Analysis of mean and skew in log fitness of parents and offspring after crosses.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Comparison of fitness across individuals with varying numbers of deleterious mutations.

    • Main Results:

    • Only one method, crossing individuals with highly divergent mutation loads and comparing parent-offspring fitness, is likely to yield useful results.
    • Re-analysis of existing data from Chlamydomonas moewussi using two of the proposed methods.
    • Identification of the most effective experimental approach for studying epistasis.

    Conclusions:

    • Crossing individuals with disparate mutation burdens is the most effective strategy for detecting epistasis.
    • The proposed method can be adapted for studying epistasis in diploid species.
    • Further experimental data is needed to fully understand deleterious mutation interactions.