Biology 1B Evolution Lecture 6 selection co evolution sex evolutionarily Selection Genomic Signatures are another way to see whether natural selection is operating in a population It has become increasingly popular as the technology to do so has become more advanced and the cost of such tests has decreased markedly A candidate gene approach targets genes consider the pocket mice example MC1R agouti known to cause universal effects Contrarily a genome scan sequences an entire genome and searches for regions of very low variation Why would we look for regions of low variation A gene that is not under selection will accumulate variations through the joint effects of mutation and genetic drift However if a new mutation is under strong and recent selection then there will be much less variety as the advantageous allele will increase to a frequency of 1 replacing the pre existing background variation Chromosome with new advantageous mutation After response to selection variation is reduced at and near the site of the mutation Figure 2 For example consider small and large breeds of dogs All of these dogs are descended from a common ancestor that has been subject to intense artificial selection A genome scan of small dogs revealed that all small dogs that were sequenced shared a single genetic location that exhibited very low variation This location controlled for a growth factor when sequenced larger dogs did not have the same variant as small dogs This implies that the shared inhibition of this growth factor is what makes small dogs small As for what makes small dogs so yappy that s presumably still being researched Coevolution Coevolution or reciprocal selection is when each of two interacting species affects the fitnesses of phenotypes in the other species Mutualistic coevolution is when both species receive a benefit from the coevolutionary relationship This can become an obligate required trait For example attine ants also known as leaf cutter ants harvest leaves and bring them back to the ant nest where they are digested by fungi The fungi receives its nourishment from digesting the leaves but the ants receive their nourishment from consuming the product produced by the fungi digesting the leaves Antagonistic coevolution is when one species has a negative benefit from coevolution Consider a host and a pathogen coevolving the pathogen would develop surface proteins that the host cannot detect The host s immune system would then develop sensors that could detect that pathogen This sequence of evolutionary events has often been called an evolutionary arms race or a Biology 1B Evolution Lecture 6 selection co evolution sex evolutionarily Red Queen situation to remain in one place survive without being vulnerable to pathogens you have to keep evolving new defenses In this case there is frequency dependent selection where the common phenotype has a reduced fitness pathogens will easily infect individuals who all have the same immunity alleles and the rarer phenotype has an increased fitness This works to maintain genetic variation Neat note The MHC or major histocompatibility complex is one of the densest genomic regions in mammals and is responsible for our immune systems It s very complex and has a lot of different interacting genes Another example would be a predator and its prey predators which are more able to catch the prey will be favored while prey that can escape from predators more often will be favored Alternatively a prey species such as the Pacific newt might be very poisonous However its coevolved predator the gartner snake has the ability to detoxify the poison and prevent itself from being harmed by the poison This coevolutionary process might continue with the newt receiving more toxic poisons while the gartner snake would become more poison resistance Why have sex Evolutionarily there are several strong disadvantages to sex 1 Requires having two separate genders and expending resources on creating an entire gender males that waste energy by not directly producing offspring 2 Requires that once fully mature individuals find a mate This can consume a lot of time and energy that could be directly spent on offspring or survival 3 Uses energy and entails risk 4 By shuffling genes sex breaks down good gene combinations There are alternatives to sexual reproduction Some animals 1 of lizard species practice parthenogenesis or cloning to give birth to offspring genetically identical to the parent Some plants have the same practice called apomixis Daphnia have a sexual asexual system where they reproduce asexually when the environment is favorable and then switch to sexual reproduction when the environmental conditions are harsher Sexual reproduction has several advantages over asexual reproduction 1 Produces variation through random mating independent assortment of alleles and recombination 2 Recombination slows the accumulation of mutations Mueller s ratchet 3 Brings together good combinations of genes 4 Produces genetically variable offspring which a Can use more resources and have an advantage in variable environments in that they can adapt to changing environments more readily b Increase ability to evade pathogens and parasites Imagine if you have a species of clones where the only variation is due to mutations they are going to be very vulnerable to a pathogen that is genetically adapted to that genome Australian Gecko Populations Consider Heteronotia binoei These lizards reproduce parthenogenically clonally These clones are triploid 3N and are all female and arose from hybridization between different sexual morphs The clones are genetically identical This species of lizards has spread across a large swath of Australia However there will be up to 200 times as many parasites on these lizards as on other lizards since these lizards are all genetically identical to each other excepting mutation inherent in creating offspring These parasites increase water loss and reduce survival rates
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