Abstract
This paper examines the theory of the evolution of increased recombination between two loci subjected to interactive selection in a temporally fluctuating environment. Both cyclical and stochastic environments are considered. It is shown that temporal variation in the linkage disequilibrium coefficient for the pair of selected loci, due to fluctuations in the selective values of the genotypes at these loci, can give rise to selection in favor of modifier genes increasing recombination. The equilibrium level of recombination established in a given population depends on several factors; it is highest for intermediate values of the environmental periodicity or autocorrelation, for cases when the modifier genes are themselves closely linked to the selected loci, and for high levels of environmental variation. In general, it seems that the rate of modification of recombination values by this process will be low except when the modifiers are tightly linked to the selected loci. The possible evolutionary significance of this process is discussed in relation to observations on genetic systems of plants and animals.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (988.3 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Deakin M. A. A model for inversion polymorphism. J Theor Biol. 1972 May;35(2):191–212. doi: 10.1016/0022-5193(72)90033-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- GRANT V. The regulation of recombination in plants. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1958;23:337–363. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1958.023.01.034. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Karlin S., Lieberman U. Random temporal variation in selection intensities: case of large population size. Theor Popul Biol. 1974 Dec;6(3):355–382. doi: 10.1016/0040-5809(74)90016-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Karlin S., McGregor J. Towards a theory of the evolution of modifier genes. Theor Popul Biol. 1974 Feb;5(1):59–103. doi: 10.1016/0040-5809(74)90052-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lewontin R. C. The effect of genetic linkage on the mean fitness of a population. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1971 May;68(5):984–986. doi: 10.1073/pnas.68.5.984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nei M. Modification of linkage intensity by natural selection. Genetics. 1967 Nov;57(3):625–641. doi: 10.1093/genetics/57.3.625. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]