The Evolution of Recombination: Removing the Limits to Natural Selection

One of the oldest hypotheses for the advantage of recombination is that recombination allows beneficial mutations that arise in different individuals to be placed together on the same chromosome. Unless recombination occurs, one of the beneficial alleles is doomed to extinction, slowing the rate at which adaptive mutations are incorporated within a population. We model the effects of a modifier of recombination on the fixation probability of beneficial mutations when beneficial alleles are segregating at other loci. We find that modifier alleles that increase recombination do increase the fixation probability of beneficial mutants and subsequently hitchhike along as the mutants rise in frequency. The strength of selection favoring a modifier that increases recombination is proportional to λ(2)Sδr/r when linkage is tight and λ(2)S(3)δ r/N when linkage is loose, where λ is the beneficial mutation rate per genome per generation throughout a population of size N, S is the average mutant effect, r is the average recombination rate, and δr is the amount that recombination is modified. We conclude that selection for recombination will be substantial only if there is tight linkage within the genome or if many loci are subject to directional selection as during periods of rapid evolutionary change.     

具有有限时滞的Lotka—Volterra方程出现周期解分歧现象的条件

本文研究了方程组我们给出了该方程组的解出现周期分歧现象的一个条件。     

The Structure of Evolution by Natural Selection

We attempt a conclusive resolution of the debate over whether the principle of natural selection (PNS), especially conceived as the `principle' of the `survival of the fittest', is a tautology. This debate has been largely ignored for the past 15 years but not, we think, because it has actually been settled. We begin by describing the tautology objection, and situating the problem in the philosophical and biology literature. We then demonstrate the inadequacy of six prima facie plausible reasons for believing that the tautology debate has been satisfactorily resolved (the PNS is strictly a methodological principle; scientific theories can contain tautologies; the scope of the PNS has been reduced; theories should be understood as models and not exceptionless laws; the widespread acceptance of the propensity interpretation of fitness; and the abandonment of operationalism and verificationism). We proceed to a detailed discussion of Brandon's law (D) describing the PNS, and show that law (D) seriously misrepresents the structure of evolution by natural selection. In the final sections, we provide and defend a novel reinterpretation of the structure of the principle (or, we prefer, model) of evolution by natural selection.     

The Dynamics of Sex Ratio Evolution: From the Gene Perspective to Multilevel Selection

The new dynamical game theoretic model of sex ratio evolution emphasizes the role of males as passive carriers of sex ratio genes. This shows inconsistency between population genetic models of sex ratio evolution and classical strategic models. In this work a novel technique of change of coordinates will be applied to the new model. This will reveal new aspects of the modelled phenomenon which cannot be shown or proven in the original formulation. The underlying goal is to describe the dynamics of selection of particular genes in the entire population, instead of in the same sex subpopulation, as in the previous paper and earlier population genetics approaches. This allows for analytical derivation of the unbiased strategic model from the model with rigorous non-simplified genetics. In effect, an alternative system of replicator equations is derived. It contains two subsystems: the first describes changes in gene frequencies (this is an alternative unbiased formalization of the Fisher-Dusing argument), whereas the second describes changes in the sex ratios in subpopulations of carriers of genes for each strategy. An intriguing analytical result of this work is that the fitness of a gene depends on the current sex ratio in the subpopulation of its carriers, not on the encoded individual strategy. Thus, the argument of the gene fitness function is not constant but is determined by the trajectory of the sex ratio among carriers of that gene. This aspect of the modelled phenomenon cannot be revealed by the static analysis. Dynamics of the sex ratio among gene carriers is driven by a dynamic “tug of war” between female carriers expressing the encoded strategic trait value and random partners of male carriers expressing the average population strategy (a primary sex ratio). This mechanism can be called “double-level selection”. Therefore, gene interest perspective leads to multi-level selection.     

原核生物中小RNA的功能及研究进展

在原核生物基因组中,除了tRNA、rRNA和mRNA这3种我们很熟悉的RNA以外,目前已经知道还含有许多编码非常规调控的RNA。这些RNA的长度为50～400核苷酸,通常由原核生物的基因间区编码,但并不翻译成蛋白质,因此被称为非编码小RNA（sRNA）,简称小RNA或非编码RNA。近年来,随着生物信息学和分子生物学技术的不断发展,在原核生物体内陆续发现了上百种sRNA分子,这些sRNA分子具有多样的生物学功能,作为一类新发现的基因表达调控子已经引起了高度的重视。     

On the Evolution of the Standard Genetic Code: Vestiges of Critical Scale Invariance from the RNA World in Current Prokaryote Genomes

Herein two genetic codes from which the primeval RNA code could have originated the standard genetic code (SGC) are derived. One of them, called extended RNA code type I, consists of all codons of the type RNY (purine-any base-pyrimidine) plus codons obtained by considering the RNA code but in the second (NYR type) and third (YRN type) reading frames. The extended RNA code type II, comprises all codons of the type RNY plus codons that arise from transversions of the RNA code in the first (YNY type) and third (RNR) nucleotide bases. In order to test if putative nucleotide sequences in the RNA World and in both extended RNA codes, share the same scaling and statistical properties to those encountered in current prokaryotes, we used the genomes of four Eubacteria and three Archaeas. For each prokaryote, we obtained their respective genomes obeying the RNA code or the extended RNA codes types I and II. In each case, we estimated the scaling properties of triplet sequences via a renormalization group approach, and we calculated the frequency distributions of distances for each codon. Remarkably, the scaling properties of the distance series of some codons from the RNA code and most codons from both extended RNA codes turned out to be identical or very close to the scaling properties of codons of the SGC. To test for the robustness of these results, we show, via computer simulation experiments, that random mutations of current genomes, at the rates of 10⁻¹⁰ per site per year during three billions of years, were not enough for destroying the observed patterns. Therefore, we conclude that most current prokaryotes may still contain relics of the primeval RNA World and that both extended RNA codes may well represent two plausible evolutionary paths between the RNA code and the current SGC.     

Selection and the Evolution of Genetic Life Cycles

The evolution of haploid and diploid phases of the life cycle is investigated theoretically, using a model where the relative length of haploid and diploid phases is under genetic control. The model assumes that selection occurs in both phases and that fitness in each phase is a function of the time spent in that phase. The equilibrium and stability conditions that allow for all-haploid, all-diploid, or polyphasic life cycles are considered for general survivorship functions. Types of stable life cycles possible depend on the form of the viability selection. If mortality rates are constant, either haploidy or diploidy is the only stable life cycle possible. Departures from constant mortality can give qualitatively different results. For example, when survivorship in each phase is a linear, decreasing function of the time spent in the phase, stable haploid, diploid or polyphasic life cycles are possible. The addition of genetic variation at a coevolving viability locus does not qualitatively affect the outcome with respect to the maintenance of polyphasic cycles but can lead to situations where more than one life cycle is concurrently stable. These results show that trade-offs between the advantages of being diploid and of being haploid may help explain the patterns of life cycles found in nature and that the type of selection may be critical to determining the results.     

Transition between Stochastic Evolution and Deterministic Evolution in the Presence of Selection: General Theory and Application to Virology

We present here a self-contained analytic review of the role of stochastic factors acting on a virus population. We develop a simple one-locus, two-allele model of a haploid population of constant size including the factors of random drift, purifying selection, and random mutation. We consider different virological experiments: accumulation and reversion of deleterious mutations, competition between mutant and wild-type viruses, gene fixation, mutation frequencies at the steady state, divergence of two populations split from one population, and genetic turnover within a single population. In the first part of the review, we present all principal results in qualitative terms and illustrate them with examples obtained by computer simulation. In the second part, we derive the results formally from a diffusion equation of the Wright-Fisher type and boundary conditions, all derived from the first principles for the virus population model. We show that the leading factors and observable behavior of evolution differ significantly in three broad intervals of population size, N. The “neutral limit” is reached when N is smaller than the inverse selection coefficient. When N is larger than the inverse mutation rate per base, selection dominates and evolution is “almost” deterministic. If the selection coefficient is much larger than the mutation rate, there exists a broad interval of population sizes, in which weakly diverse populations are almost neutral while highly diverse populations are controlled by selection pressure. We discuss in detail the application of our results to human immunodeficiency virus population in vivo, sampling effects, and limitations of the model.     

Sexual Selection and the Molecular Evolution of ADAM Proteins

Rapid evolution has been identified for many reproductive genes and recent studies have combined phylogenetic tests and information on species mating systems to test sexual selection. Here we examined the molecular evolution of the ADAM gene family, a diverse group of 35 proteins capable of adhesion to and cleavage of other proteins, using sequence data from 25 mammalian genes. Out of the 25 genes analyzed, all those expressed in male reproductive tissue showed evidence of positive selection. Positively selected amino acids within the protein adhesion domain were only found in sperm surface ADAM proteins (ADAMs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 32) suggesting selection driven by male × female interactions. We tested heterogeneity in rates of evolution of the adhesion domain of ADAM proteins by using sequence data from Hominidae and macaques. The use of the branch and branch-site models (PAML) showed evidence of higher d _N/d _S and/or positive selection linked to branches experiencing high postmating selective pressures (chimpanzee and macaque) for Adams 2, 18, and 23. Moreover, we found consistent higher proportion of nonsynonymous relative to synonymous and noncoding sequence substitutions in chimpanzee and/or macaque only for Adams 2, 18, and 23. Our results suggest that lineage-specific sexual selection bouts might have driven the evolution of the adhesion sperm protein surface domains of ADAMs 2 and 18 in primates. Adams 2 and 18 are localized in chromosome 8 of primates and adjacent to each other, so their evolution might have also been influenced by their common genome localization.     

The Effect of Branch Length Variation on the Selection of Models of Molecular Evolution

Models of sequence evolution play an important role in molecular evolutionary studies. The use of inappropriate models of evolution may bias the results of the analysis and lead to erroneous conclusions. Several procedures for selecting the best-fit model of evolution for the data at hand have been proposed, like the likelihood ratio test (LRT) and the Akaike (AIC) and Bayesian (BIC) information criteria. The relative performance of these model-selecting algorithms has not yet been studied under a range of different model trees. In this study, the influence of branch length variation upon model selection is characterized. This is done by simulating sequence alignments under a known model of nucleotide substitution, and recording how often this true model is recovered by different model-fitting strategies. Results of this study agree with previous simulations and suggest that model selection is reasonably accurate. However, different model selection methods showed distinct levels of accuracy. Some LRT approaches showed better performance than the AIC or BIC information criteria. Within the LRTs, model selection is affected by the complexity of the initial model selected for the comparisons, and only slightly by the order in which different parameters are added to the model. A specific hierarchy of LRTs, which starts from a simple model of evolution, performed overall better than other possible LRT hierarchies, or than the AIC or BIC. Received: 2 October 2000 / Accepted: 4 January 2001     

The Role of Interelement Selection in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ty Element Evolution

Retrotransposons are mobile genetic elements that are ubiquitous components of eukaryotic genomes. The evolutionary success of retrotransposons is explained by their ability to replicate faster than the host genomes in which they reside. Elements with higher rates of genomic replication possess a selective advantage over less active elements. Retrotransposon populations, therefore, are shaped largely by selective forces acting at the genomic level between elements. To evaluate rigorously the effects of selective forces acting on retrotransposons, detailed information on the patterns of molecular variation within and between retrotransposon families is needed. The sequencing of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, which includes the entire genomic complement of yeast retrotransposons, provides an unprecedented opportunity to access and analyze such data. In this study, we analyzed in detail the patterns of nucleotide variation within the open reading frames of two parental (Ty1 and Ty2) and one hybrid (Ty1/2) family of yeast retrotransposons. The pattern and distribution of nucleotide changes on the phylogenetic reconstructions of the three families of Ty elements reveal evidence of negative selection on both internal and external branches of the Ty phylogenies. These results indicate that most, if not all, Ty elements examined represent active or recently active retrotransposon lineages. We discuss the relevance of these findings with respect to the coevolutionary dynamic operating between genomic element populations and the host organisms in which they reside. Received: 5 November 1998 / Accepted: 17 March 1999     

The Evolution of Mutualism in Gut Microbiota Via Host Epithelial Selection

The human gut harbours a large and genetically diverse population of symbiotic microbes that both feed and protect the host. Evolutionary theory, however, predicts that such genetic diversity can destabilise mutualistic partnerships. How then can the mutualism of the human microbiota be explained? Here we develop an individual-based model of host-associated microbial communities. We first demonstrate the fundamental problem faced by a host: The presence of a genetically diverse microbiota leads to the dominance of the fastest growing microbes instead of the microbes that are most beneficial to the host. We next investigate the potential for host secretions to influence the microbiota. This reveals that the epithelium–microbiota interface acts as a selectivity amplifier: Modest amounts of moderately selective epithelial secretions cause a complete shift in the strains growing at the epithelial surface. This occurs because of the physical structure of the epithelium–microbiota interface: Epithelial secretions have effects that permeate upwards through the whole microbial community, while lumen compounds preferentially affect cells that are soon to slough off. Finally, our model predicts that while antimicrobial secretion can promote host epithelial selection, epithelial nutrient secretion will often be key to host selection. Our findings are consistent with a growing number of empirical papers that indicate an influence of host factors upon microbiota, including growth-promoting glycoconjugates. We argue that host selection is likely to be a key mechanism in the stabilisation of the mutualism between a host and its microbiota.     

Components of Selection in the Evolution of the Influenza Virus: Linkage Effects Beat Inherent Selection

The influenza virus is an important human pathogen, with a rapid rate of evolution in the human population. The rate of homologous recombination within genes of influenza is essentially zero. As such, where two alleles within the same gene are in linkage disequilibrium, interference between alleles will occur, whereby selection acting upon one allele has an influence upon the frequency of the other. We here measured the relative importance of selection and interference effects upon the evolution of influenza. We considered time-resolved allele frequency data from the global evolutionary history of the haemagglutinin gene of human influenza A/H3N2, conducting an in-depth analysis of sequences collected since 1996. Using a model that accounts for selection-caused interference between alleles in linkage disequilibrium, we estimated the inherent selective benefit of individual polymorphisms in the viral population. These inherent selection coefficients were in turn used to calculate the total selective effect of interference acting upon each polymorphism, considering the effect of the initial background upon which a mutation arose, and the subsequent effect of interference from other alleles that were under selection. Viewing events in retrospect, we estimated the influence of each of these components in determining whether a mutant allele eventually fixed or died in the global viral population. Our inherent selection coefficients, when combined across different regions of the protein, were consistent with previous measurements of dN/dS for the same system. Alleles going on to fix in the global population tended to be under more positive selection, to arise on more beneficial backgrounds, and to avoid strong negative interference from other alleles under selection. However, on average, the fate of a polymorphism was determined more by the combined influence of interference effects than by its inherent selection coefficient.     

Pertinence of indicator organisms and sampling variables to Vibrio concentrations.

Vibrio-indicator relationships and effects of day, depth, and tidal levels on the density of vibrios enumerated by the most probable number technique were investigated. Counts of vibrios taken monthly from Apalachicola Bay, Fla., were either negatively correlated or showed no correlation with counts of indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli, enterococci, fecal coliforms, and total coliforms). Water samples collected on two days from the surface and bottom over a complete tidal cycle on each day were analyzed for differences in vibrio concentrations. Concentrations of vibrios in samples taken on different days, in those taken at different depths, and in those taken at different tidal levels were significantly different, indicating that these factors need to be taken into account in health-related studies.     

Circadian Rhythm of the Prokaryote Synechococcus sp. RF-1

The prokaryotic Synechococcus sp. RF-1 exhibited a nitrogen fixation circadian rhythm with characteristics remarkably similar to the circadian rhythm of eukaryotes. The rhythm had a free-running period of about 24 hours when the length of the preen-trained cycle did not differ too much from 24 hours, and it was insensitive to changes in temperature from 22°C to 33°C. Because the endogenous rhythm of nitrogen fixation was not affected by a phase-shift of its previous cycles, the circadian rhythm in Synechococcus sp. RF-1 was not considered to be controlled simply by a feedback mechanism.     

Pertinence of the Elias approach in history of medicine

Norbert Elias has notably influenced the historiography of the Early Modern Period since the 1970s. In the course of the borrowing of his concepts by different disciplines, the uniqueness of these concepts was nevertheless altered. This article aims to show that Elias' 'Sociology of configurations' proposed an original point of view on Longue Durée in history. It thus suggests: 1) to re-evaluate the historical dimension of Elias' sociology; 2) to question eventual contributions to present-day research to the history of medicine and health.