Inclusive fitness analysis on mathematical groups

Recent work on the evolution of behaviour is set in a structured population, providing a systematic way to describe gene flow and behavioural interactions. To obtain analytical results one needs a structure with considerable regularity. Our results apply to such "homogeneous" structures (e.g., lattices, cycles, and island models). This regularity has been formally described by a "node-transitivity" condition but in mathematics, such internal symmetry is powerfully described by the theory of mathematical groups. Here, this theory provides elegant direct arguments for a more general version of a number of existing results. Our main result is that in large "group-structured" populations, primary fitness effects on others play no role in the evolution of the behaviour. The competitive effects of such a trait cancel the primary effects, and the inclusive fitness effect is given by the direct effect of the actor on its own fitness. This result is conditional on a number of assumptions such as (1) whether generations overlap, (2) whether offspring dispersal is symmetric, (3) whether the trait affects fecundity or survival, and (4) whether the underlying group is abelian. We formulate a number of results of this type in finite and infinite populations for both Moran and Wright-Fisher demographies.     

Marker‐based estimates of relatedness and inbreeding coefficients: an assessment of current methods

Inbreeding (F) of and relatedness (r) between individuals are now routinely calculated from marker data in studies in the fields of quantitative genetics, conservation genetics, forensics, evolution and ecology. Although definable in terms of either correlation coefficient or probability of identity by descent (IBD) relative to a reference, they are better interpreted as correlations in marker‐based analyses because the reference in practice is frequently the current sample or population whose F and r are being estimated. In such situations, negative estimates have a biological meaning, a substantial proportion of the estimates are expected to be negative, and the average estimates are close to zero for r and equivalent to F_IS for F. I show that although current r estimators were developed from the IBD‐based concept of relatedness, some of them conform to the correlation‐based concept of relatedness and some do not. The latter estimators can be modified, however, so that they estimate r as a correlation coefficient. I also show that F and r estimates can be misleading and become biased and marker dependent when a sample containing a high proportion of highly inbred and/or closely related individuals is used as reference. In analyses depending on the comparison between r (or F) estimates and a priori values expected under ideal conditions (e.g. for identifying genealogical relationship), the estimators should be used with caution.     

Postcopulatory inbreeding avoidance in guppies

In many species, the negative fitness effects of inbreeding have facilitated the evolution of a wide range of inbreeding avoidance mechanisms. Although avoidance mechanisms operating prior to mating are well documented, evidence for postcopulatory mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance remain scarce. Here, we examine the potential for paternity biases to favour unrelated males when their sperm compete for fertilizations though postcopulatory inbreeding avoidance mechanisms in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata. To test this possibility, we used a series of artificial inseminations to deliver an equal number of sperm from a related (either full sibling or half sibling) and unrelated male to a female while statistically controlling for differences in sperm quality between rival ejaculates. In this way, we were able to focus exclusively on postcopulatory mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance and account for differences in sperm competitiveness between rival males. Under these carefully controlled conditions, we report a significant bias in paternity towards unrelated males, although this effect was only apparent when the related male was a full sibling. We also show that sperm competition generally favours males with highly viable sperm and thus that some variance in sperm competitiveness can be attributed to difference in sperm quality. Our findings for postcopulatory inbreeding avoidance are consistent with prior work on guppies, revealing that sperm competition success declines linearly with the level of relatedness, but also that such effects are only apparent at relatedness levels of full siblings or higher. These findings reveal that postcopulatory processes alone can facilitate inbreeding avoidance.     

Compositional relatedness of aldehyde reductases from several species

Summary The amino acid compositions of several monomeric NADPH-dependent aldehyde reductases from a variety of species have been determined and analyzed by the difference index method of Metzger et al. (1968). The difference indexes among mammals range from 4.15 – 6.10 indicating considerable homology. Comparison of chicken aldehyde reductase with mammalian aldehyde reductases gave values in the range 6.8 – 9.9 suggesting a close relationship whereas the difference indexes for the enzymes from fruit fly and Baker's yeast versus vertebrate aldehyde reductases (10.9 – 14.4) indicate more distant relationships. The extent of sequence homology among aldehyde reductases from these species was estimated from a plot of difference index versus percent sequence difference for oxido-reductases of known sequence. From this plot, and using a mammal-chicken divergence time of 300 million years and a mammalian order split of 75 million years, the rate of evolution of aldehyde reductases was calculated to lie in the range 5.8 – 15.6% sequence difference per 100 million years. Comparison with rates of evolution of oligomeric dehydrogenases indicates that aldehyde reductases comprise the most rapidly evolving family of oxido-reductases. This is probably related to the monomericity of aldehyde reductases since there is a direct correlation between the number of subunits and the rate of evolution.     

胡枝子属根瘤菌的多相分类研究

采用了数值分类、全细胞可溶性蛋白电泳分析、ＤＮＡＧ＋Ｃｍｏｌ％和ＤＮＡ相关性的测定以及１６ＳｒＤＮＡＰＣＲＲＦＬＰ分析等多相分类技术对来源于不同地区的１６种寄主的胡枝子根瘤菌进行了系统的分类研究。数值分类的结果表明,在６７％的相似性水平上,全部供试菌可以分为快生型根瘤菌和慢性型根瘤菌两大群,在８０％的相似性水平上又可分为四个亚群。在此基础上,对各亚群的胡枝子根瘤菌进行了ＤＮＡ相关性的测定,以进一步证实和确定它们的分类地位,并通过１６ＳｒＤＮＡＰＣＲＲＦＬＰ分析对各亚群的系统发育关系进行了初步研究。     

Colony kin structure and male production in Dolichovespula wasps

In annual hymenopteran societies headed by a single outbred queen, paternity (determined by queen mating frequency and sperm use) is the sole variable affecting colony kin structure and is therefore a key predictor of colony reproductive characteristics. Here we investigate paternity and male production in five species of Dolichovespula wasps. Twenty workers from each of 10 colonies of each of five species, 1000 workers in total, were analysed at three DNA microsatellite loci to estimate paternity. To examine the relationship between kin structure and reproductive behaviour, worker ovary activation was assessed by dissection and the maternal origin of adult males was assessed by DNA microsatellites. Effective paternity was low in all species (D. media 1.08, D. maculata 1.0, D. sylvestris 1.15, D. norwegica 1.08 and D. saxonica 1.35), leading to the prediction of queen-worker conflict over male production. In support of this, workers with full-size eggs in their ovaries (four out of five species) and adult males that were workers' sons (all five species) were found in queenright colonies. However, workers were only responsible for a minority of male production (D. media 7.4%, D. maculata 20.9%, D. sylvestris 9.8%, D. norwegica 2.6% and D. saxonica 34.6%) suggesting that the queen maintains considerable reproductive power over the workers. Kin structure and reproductive conflict in Dolichovespula contrast with their sister group Vespula. Dolichovespula is characterized by low paternity, worker reproduction, and queen-worker conflict and Vespula by high paternity, effective worker policing and absence of worker reproduction. The trend revealed by this comparison is as predicted by kin selection theory suggesting that colony kin structure has been pivotal in the evolution of the yellowjacket wasps.     

Facultative polygyny in the plant-ant Petalomyrmex phylax (Hymenoptera: Formicinae): sociogenetic and ecological determinants of queen number

In polygynous ants it has been proposed that the coexistence of several queens in a colony evolved as a response to ecological, social and genetic parameters. We present demographic, histological and genetic data showing that the plant-ant Petalomyrmex phylax is facultatively and secondarily polygynous. Polygyny is functional, lowers the reproductive output per queen, and is a kin-selected trait as new queens accepted in polygynous colonies are highly related females that never left their natal colony. The degree of polygyny varies according to a geographical gradient. Northern colonies can be strongly polygynous, while at the southern edge of the species' distribution, colonies are almost exclusively monogynous. However, ecological studies of the host-plant populations revealed that this cline could not be explained by variations in the degree of nest site limitation. We discuss selective costs and benefits associated with these social structures, and propose that this cline may result from historical processes such as selection of a more dispersive strategy along a colonization front.  © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 86 , 133–151.     

Estimating the inbreeding level and genetic relatedness in an isolated population of critically endangered Sichuan taimen (Hucho Bleekeri) using genome‐wide SNP markers

Sichuan taimen (Hucho bleekeri) is critically endangered fish listed in The Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Specific locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF‐seq)‐based genotyping was performed for Sichuan taimen with 43 yearling individuals from three locations in Taibai River (a tributary of Yangtze River) that has been sequestered from its access to the ocean for more than 30 years since late 1980s. Applying the inbreeding level and genetic relatedness estimation using 15,396 genome‐wide SNP markers, we found that the inbreeding level of this whole isolated population was at a low level (2.6 × 10^?3 ± 0.079), and the means of coancestry coefficients within and between the three sampling locations were all very low (close to 0), too. Genomic differentiation was negatively correlated with the geographical distances between the sampling locations (p < .001), and the 43 individuals could be considered as genetically independent two groups. The low levels of genomic inbreeding and relatedness indicated a relatively large number of sexually mature individuals were involved in reproduction in Taibai River. This study suggested a genomic‐relatedness‐guided breeding and conservation strategy for wild fish species without pedigree information records.