Gene conversion may aid adaptive peak shifts

Loss-of-heterozygosity facilitates a fitness valley crossing in experimentally evolved multicellular yeast

Determining how adaptive possibilities do or do not become evolutionary realities is central to understanding the tempo and mode of evolutionary change. Some of the simplest evolutionary landscapes arise from underdominance at a single locus where the fitness valley consists of only one less-fit genotype. Despite their potential for rapid evolutionary change, few such examples have been investigated. We capitalized on an experimental system in which a significant evolutionary shift, the transition from uni-to-multicellularity, was observed in asexual diploid populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae experimentally selected for increased settling rates. The multicellular phenotype results from recessive single-locus mutations that undergo loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) events. By reconstructing the necessary heterozygous intermediate steps, we found that the evolution of multicellularity involves a decrease in size during the first steps. Heterozygous genotypes are 20% smaller in size than genotypes with functional alleles. Nevertheless, populations of heterozygotes give rise to multicellular genotypes more readily than unicellular genotypes with two functional alleles, by rapid LOH events. LOH drives adaptation that may enable rapid evolution in diploid yeast. Together these results show discordance between the phenotypic and genotypic multicellular transition. The evolutionary path to multicellularity, and the adaptive benefits of increased size, requires initial size reductions.

Gene Conversion Facilitates the Adaptive Evolution of Self-Resistance in Highly Toxic Newts

Reconstructing the histories of complex adaptations and identifying the evolutionary mechanisms underlying their origins are two of the primary goals of evolutionary biology. Taricha newts, which contain high concentrations of the deadly toxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) as an antipredator defense, have evolved resistance to self-intoxication, which is a complex adaptation requiring changes in six paralogs of the voltage-gated sodium channel (Na_v) gene family, the physiological target of TTX. Here, we reconstruct the origins of TTX self-resistance by sequencing the entire Na_v gene family in newts and related salamanders. We show that moderate TTX resistance evolved early in the salamander lineage in three of the six Na_v paralogs, preceding the proposed appearance of tetrodotoxic newts by ∼100 My. TTX-bearing newts possess additional unique substitutions across the entire Na_v gene family that provide physiological TTX resistance. These substitutions coincide with signatures of positive selection and relaxed purifying selection, as well as gene conversion events, that together likely facilitated their evolution. We also identify a novel exon duplication within Na_v1.4 encoding an expressed TTX-binding site. Two resistance-conferring changes within newts appear to have spread via nonallelic gene conversion: in one case, one codon was copied between paralogs, and in the second, multiple substitutions were homogenized between the duplicate exons of Na_v1.4. Our results demonstrate that gene conversion can accelerate the coordinated evolution of gene families in response to a common selection pressure.

Identification of Wild-Type CYP321A2 and Comparison of Allelochemical-Induced Expression Profiles of CYP321A2 with Its Paralog CYP321A1 in Helicoverpa zea

One possible way to overcome the diversity of toxic plant allelochemicals idiosyncratically distributed among potential host plants is to have more counterdefense genes via gene duplication or fewer gene losses. Cytochrome P450 is the most important gene family responsible for detoxification of the diversity of plant allelochemicals. We have recently reported the identification and cloning of the transposon (HzSINE1)-disrupted non-functional CYP321A2, a duplicated paralog of the xenobiotic-metabolizing P450 CYP321A1 from a laboratory colony of Helicoverpa zea. Here we report the identification of the wild-type intact allele of CYP321A2 from another H. zea colony. This CYP321A2 allele encodes a deduced protein of 498 amino acids and has the P450 signature motifs. Quantitative RT-PCR experiments showed that this CYP321A2 allele was highly expressed in midgut and fat body and achieved the highest expression level in the developmental stage of 5th and 3rd instar larvae. CYP321A2 and CYP321A1 were constitutively expressed in low levels but can be differentially and significantly induced by a range of the plant allelochemicals and plant signal molecules, among which xanthotoxin, flavone, and coumarin were the most prominent inducers of CYP321A2 both in midgut and fat body, whereas flavone, coumarin, and indole-3-carbinol were the prominent inducers of CYP321A1 in midgut and fat body. Moreover, xanthotoxin- and flavone-responsive regulatory elements of CYP321A1 were also detected in the promoter region of CYP321A2. Our results enrich the P450 inventory by identifying an allelochemical broadly induced CYP321A2, a paralog of CYP321A1 in H. zea. Our data also suggest that the CYP321A2/CYP321A1 paralogs are a pair of duplicated genes of multigene families and CYP321A2 could potentially be involved in the detoxification of plant allelochemicals and adaptation of H. zea to its chemical environment.

Evolvability and robustness: A paradox restored

Evolvability and robustness are crucial for the origin and maintenance of complex organisms, but may not be simultaneously achievable as robust traits are also hard to change. Andreas Wagner has proposed a solution to this paradox by arguing that the many-to-few aspect of genotype-phenotype maps creates neutral networks of genotypes coding for the same phenotype. Phenotypes with large networks are genetically robust, but they may also have more neighboring phenotypes and thus higher evolvability. In this paper, we explore the generality of this idea by sampling large numbers of random genotype-phenotype maps for Boolean genotypes and phenotypes. We show that there is indeed a preponderance of positive correlations between the evolvability and robustness of phenotypes within a genotype-phenotype map, but also that there are negative correlations between average evolvability and robustness across maps. We interpret this as predicting a positive correlation across the phenotypic states of a character, but a negative correlation across characters. We also argue that evolvability and robustness tend to be negatively correlated when phenotypes are measured on ordinal or higher scale types. We conclude that Wagner's conjecture of a positive relation between robustness and evolvability is based on strict and somewhat unrealistic biological assumptions.

Cryptic genetic variation can make "irreducible complexity" a common mode of adaptation in sexual populations

The existence of complex (multiple-step) genetic adaptations that are "irreducible" (i.e., all partial combinations are less fit than the original genotype) is one of the longest standing problems in evolutionary biology. In standard genetics parlance, these adaptations require the crossing of a wide adaptive valley of deleterious intermediate stages. Here, we demonstrate, using a simple model, that evolution can cross wide valleys to produce "irreducibly complex" adaptations by making use of previously cryptic mutations. When revealed by an evolutionary capacitor, previously cryptic mutants have higher initial frequencies than do new mutations, bringing them closer to a valley-crossing saddle in allele frequency space. Moreover, simple combinatorics implies an enormous number of candidate combinations exist within available cryptic genetic variation. We model the dynamics of crossing of a wide adaptive valley after a capacitance event using both numerical simulations and analytical approximations. Although individual valley crossing events become less likely as valleys widen, by taking the combinatorics of genotype space into account, we see that revealing cryptic variation can cause the frequent evolution of complex adaptations.

Where do phosphosites come from and where do they go after gene duplication?

Gene duplication followed by divergence is an important mechanism that leads to molecular innovation. Divergence of paralogous genes can be achieved at functional and regulatory levels. Whereas regulatory divergence at the transcriptional level is well documented, little is known about divergence of posttranslational modifications (PTMs). Protein phosphorylation, one of the most important PTMs, has recently been shown to be an important determinant of the retention of paralogous genes. Here we test whether gains and losses of phosphorylated amino acids after gene duplication may specifically modify the regulation of these duplicated proteins. We show that when phosphosites are lost in one paralog, transitions from phosphorylated serines and threonines are significantly biased toward negatively charged amino acids, which can mimic their phosphorylated status in a constitutive manner. Our analyses support the hypothesis that divergence between paralogs can be generated by a loss of the posttranslational regulatory control on a function rather than by the complete loss of the function itself. Surprisingly, these favoured transitions cannot be reached by single mutational steps, which suggests that the function of a phosphosite needs to be completely abolished before it is restored through substitution by these phosphomimetic residues. We conclude by discussing how gene duplication could facilitate the transitions between phosphorylated and phosphomimetic amino acids.

Gene duplication and ectopic gene conversion in Drosophila

The evolutionary impact of gene duplication events has been a theme of Drosophila genetics dating back to the Morgan School. While considerable attention has been placed on the genetic novelties that duplicates are capable of introducing, and the role that positive selection plays in their early stages of duplicate evolution, much less attention has been given to the potential consequences of ectopic (non-allelic) gene conversion on these evolutionary processes. In this paper we consider the historical origins of ectopic gene conversion models and present a synthesis of the current Drosophila data in light of several primary questions in the field.

Identifying concerted evolution and gene conversion in mammalian gene pairs lasting over 100 million years

BACKGROUND

Concerted evolution occurs in multigene families and is characterized by stretches of homogeneity and higher sequence similarity between paralogues than between orthologues. Here we identify human gene pairs that have undergone concerted evolution, caused by ongoing gene conversion, since at least the human-mouse divergence. Our strategy involved the identification of duplicated genes with greater similarity within a species than between species. These genes were required to be present in multiple mammalian genomes, suggesting duplication early in mammalian divergence. To eliminate genes that have been conserved due to strong purifying selection, our analysis also required at least one intron to have retained high sequence similarity between paralogues.

RESULTS

We identified three human gene pairs undergoing concerted evolution (BMP8A/B, DDX19A/B, and TUBG1/2). Phylogenetic investigations reveal that in each case the duplication appears to have occurred prior to eutherian mammalian radiation, with exactly two paralogues present in all examined species. This indicates that all three gene duplication events were established over 100 million years ago.

CONCLUSION

The extended duration of concerted evolution in multiple distant lineages suggests that there has been prolonged homogenization of specific segments within these gene pairs. Although we speculate that selection for homogenization could have been utilized in order to maintain crucial homo- or hetero- binding domains, it remains unclear why gene conversion has persisted for such extended periods of time. Through these analyses, our results demonstrate additional examples of a process that plays a definite, although unspecified, role in molecular evolution.

Understanding the recent evolution of the human genome: insights from human-chimpanzee genome comparisons

The sequencing of the chimpanzee genome and the comparison with its human counterpart have begun to reveal the spectrum of genetic changes that has accompanied human evolution. In addition to gross karyotypic rearrangements such as the fusion that formed human chromosome 2 and the human-specific pericentric inversions of chromosomes 1 and 18, there is considerable submicroscopic structural variation involving deletions, duplications, and inversions. Lineage-specific segmental duplications, detected by array comparative genomic hybridization and direct sequence comparison, have made a very significant contribution to this structural divergence, which is at least three-fold greater than that due to nucleotide substitutions. Since structural genomic changes may have given rise to irreversible functional differences between the diverging species, their detailed analysis could help to identify the biological processes that have accompanied speciation. To this end, interspecies comparisons have revealed numerous human-specific gains and losses of genes as well as changes in gene expression. The very considerable structural diversity (polymorphism) evident within both lineages has, however, hampered the analysis of the structural divergence between the human and chimpanzee genomes. The concomitant evaluation of genetic divergence and diversity at the nucleotide level has nevertheless served to identify many genes that have evolved under positive selection and may thus have been involved in the development of human lineage-specific traits. Genes that display signs of weak negative selection have also been identified and could represent candidate loci for complex genomic disorders. Here, we review recent progress in comparing the human and chimpanzee genomes and discuss how the differences detected have improved our understanding of the evolution of the human genome.

Human subtelomeres are hot spots of interchromosomal recombination and segmental duplication

Human subtelomeres are polymorphic patchworks of interchromosomal segmental duplications at the ends of chromosomes. Here we provide evidence that these patchworks arose recently through repeated translocations between chromosome ends. We assess the relative contribution of the principal mechanisms of ectopic DNA repair to the formation of subtelomeric duplications and find that non-homologous end-joining predominates. Once subtelomeric duplications arise, they are prone to homology-based sequence transfers as shown by the incongruent phylogenetic relationships of neighbouring sections. Interchromosomal recombination of subtelomeres is a potent force for recent change. Cytogenetic and sequence analyses reveal that pieces of the subtelomeric patchwork have changed location and copy number with unprecedented frequency during primate evolution. Half of the known subtelomeric sequence has formed recently, through human-specific sequence transfers and duplications. Subtelomeric dynamics result in a gene duplication rate significantly higher than the genome average and could have both advantageous and pathological consequences in human biology. More generally, our analyses suggest an evolutionary cycle between segmental polymorphisms and genome rearrangements.

The population genetic theory of hidden variation and genetic robustness

One of the most solid generalizations of transmission genetics is that the phenotypic variance of populations carrying a major mutation is increased relative to the wild type. At least some part of this higher variance is genetic and due to release of previously hidden variation. Similarly, stressful environments also lead to the expression of hidden variation. These two observations have been considered as evidence that the wild type has evolved robustness against genetic variation, i.e., genetic canalization. In this article we present a general model for the interaction of a major mutation or a novel environment with the additive genetic basis of a quantitative character under stabilizing selection. We introduce an approximation to the genetic variance in mutation-selection-drift balance that includes the previously used stochastic Gaussian and house-of-cards approximations as limiting cases. We then show that the release of hidden genetic variation is a generic property of models with epistasis or genotype-environment interaction, regardless of whether the wild-type genotype is canalized or not. As a consequence, the additive genetic variance increases upon a change in the environment or the genetic background even if the mutant character state is as robust as the wild-type character. Estimates show that this predicted increase can be considerable, in particular in large populations and if there are conditionally neutral alleles at the loci underlying the trait. A brief review of the relevant literature suggests that the assumptions of this model are likely to be generic for polygenic traits. We conclude that the release of hidden genetic variance due to a major mutation or environmental stress does not demonstrate canalization of the wild-type genotype.

Evolutionary capacitance may be favored by natural selection

Evolutionary capacitors phenotypically reveal a stock of cryptic genetic variation in a reversible fashion. The sudden and reversible revelation of a range of variation is fundamentally different from the gradual introduction of variation by mutation. Here I study the invasion dynamics of modifiers of revelation. A modifier with the optimal rate of revelation mopt has a higher probability of invading any other population than of being counterinvaded. mopt varies with the population size N and the rate theta at which environmental change makes revelation adaptive. For small populations less than a minimum cutoff Nmin, all revelation is selected against. Nmin is typically quite small and increases only weakly, with theta-1/2. For large populations with N>1/theta, mopt is approximately 1/N. Selection for the optimum is highly effective and increases in effectiveness with larger N>>1/theta. For intermediate values of N, mopt is typically a little less than theta and is only weakly favored over less frequent revelation. The model is analogous to a two-locus model for the evolution of a mutator allele. It is a fully stochastic model and so is able to show that selection for revelation can be strong enough to overcome random drift.

Perspective: Evolution and detection of genetic robustness

Robustness is the invariance of phenotypes in the face of perturbation. The robustness of phenotypes appears at various levels of biological organization, including gene expression, protein folding, metabolic flux, physiological homeostasis, development, and even organismal fitness. The mechanisms underlying robustness are diverse, ranging from thermodynamic stability at the RNA and protein level to behavior at the organismal level. Phenotypes can be robust either against heritable perturbations (e.g., mutations) or nonheritable perturbations (e.g., the weather). Here we primarily focus on the first kind of robustness--genetic robustness--and survey three growing avenues of research: (1) measuring genetic robustness in nature and in the laboratory; (2) understanding the evolution of genetic robustness: and (3) exploring the implications of genetic robustness for future evolution.

Under cover: causes, effects and implications of Hsp90-mediated genetic capacitance

The environmentally responsive molecular chaperone Hsp90 assists the maturation of many key regulatory proteins. An unexpected consequence of this essential biochemical function is that genetic variation can accumulate in genomes and can remain phenotypically silent until Hsp90 function is challenged. Notably, this variation can be revealed by modest environmental change, establishing an environmentally responsive exposure mechanism. The existence of diverse cryptic polymorphisms with a plausible exposure mechanism in evolutionarily distant lineages has implications for the pace and nature of evolutionary change. Chaperone-mediated storage and release of genetic variation is undoubtedly rooted in protein-folding phenomena. As we discuss, proper protein folding crucially affects the trajectory from genotype to phenotype. Indeed, the impact of protein quality-control mechanisms and other fundamental cellular processes on evolution has heretofore been overlooked. A true understanding of evolutionary processes will require an integration of current evolutionary paradigms with the many new insights accruing in protein science.

Sequence variation of alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) paralogs in cactophilic Drosophila

This study focuses on the population genetics of alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) in cactophilic Drosophila. Drosophila mojavensis and D. arizonae utilize cactus hosts, and each host contains a characteristic mixture of alcohol compounds. In these Drosophila species there are two functional Adh loci, an adult form (Adh-2) and a larval and ovarian form (Adh-1). Overall, the greater level of variation segregating in D. arizonae than in D. mojavensis suggests a larger population size for D. arizonae. There are markedly different patterns of variation between the paralogs across both species. A 16-bp intron haplotype segregates in both species at Adh-2, apparently the product of an ancient gene conversion event between the paralogs, which suggests that there is selection for the maintenance of the intron structure possibly for the maintenance of pre-mRNA structure. We observe a pattern of variation consistent with adaptive protein evolution in the D. mojavensis lineage at Adh-1, suggesting that the cactus host shift that occurred in the divergence of D. mojavensis from D. arizonae had an effect on the evolution of the larval expressed paralog. Contrary to previous work we estimate a recent time for both the divergence of D. mojavensis and D. arizonae (2.4 +/- 0.7 MY) and the age of the gene duplication (3.95 +/- 0.45 MY).

Plant allelochemicals differentially regulate Helicoverpa zea cytochrome P450 genes

Four cytochrome P450 genes, CYP6B8, CYP6B9, CYP6B27 and CYP6B28, exist in the Helicoverpa zea genome as two pairs of paralogs that evolved from gene duplication and 5'-polar gene conversion events. RT-PCR gel blot analyses have shown that all of these genes are expressed constitutively in midguts of all larval instars, suggesting that they have primary roles in the detoxification of plant allelochemicals. Among these, CYP6B9 is expressed only in midgut tissue whereas its paralog, CYP6B27, is expressed primarily in midgut and secondarily in fat body and ovary. CYP6B28 is expressed in midgut, fat body and, to lesser extents in ovary and integument whereas its paralog, CYP6B8, is expressed in midgut and to some extent in fat body. Comparison of the expression levels induced by eight plant allelochemicals, one drug (phenobarbital), and an insecticide (alpha-cypermethrin) indicates that, for the most part, the four P450s respond individually to these inducers, with all four induced strongly by chlorogenic acid, a shikimate pathway intermediate and a lignin biosynthesis intermediate present in a wide variety of plants, and indole-3-carbinol, a glucobrassicin breakdown product present in the Brassicaceae. The multiple levels at which these P450 genes are apparently diverging (e.g. transcriptional responses, protein sequences) support the suggestion that gene conversion events facilitate gene evolution by allowing duplicated copies greater time to acquire selectable differences in both coding and promoter sequences.

Hsp90 as a capacitor of phenotypic variation

Heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) chaperones the maturation of many regulatory proteins and, in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, buffers genetic variation in morphogenetic pathways. Levels and patterns of genetic variation differ greatly between obligatorily outbreeding species such as fruitflies and self-fertilizing species such as the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Also, plant development is more plastic, being coupled to environmental cues. Here we report that, in Arabidopsis accessions and recombinant inbred lines, reducing Hsp90 function produces an array of morphological phenotypes, which are dependent on underlying genetic variation. The strength and breadth of Hsp90's effects on the buffering and release of genetic variation suggests it may have an impact on evolutionary processes. We also show that Hsp90 influences morphogenetic responses to environmental cues and buffers normal development from destabilizing effects of stochastic processes. Manipulating Hsp90's buffering capacity offers a tool for harnessing cryptic genetic variation and for elucidating the interplay between genotypes, environments and stochastic events in the determination of phenotype.

Evolution of functionally conserved enhancers can be accelerated in large populations: a population-genetic model

The evolution of cis-regulatory elements (or enhancers) appears to proceed at dramatically different rates in different taxa. Vertebrate enhancers are often very highly conserved in their sequences, and relative positions, across distantly related taxa. In contrast, functionally equivalent enhancers in closely related Drosophila species can differ greatly in their sequences and spatial organization. We present a population-genetic model to explain this difference. The model examines the dynamics of fixation of pairs of individually deleterious, but compensating, mutations. As expected, small populations are predicted to have a high rate of evolution, and the rate decreases with increasing population size. In contrast to previous models, however, this model predicts that the rate of evolution by pairs of compensatory mutations increases dramatically for population sizes above several thousand individuals, to the point of greatly exceeding the neutral rate. Application of this model predicts that species with moderate population sizes will have relatively conserved enhancers, whereas species with larger populations will be expected to evolve their enhancers at much higher rates. We propose that the different degree of conservation seen in vertebrate and Drosophila enhancers may be explained solely by differences in their population sizes and generation times.