Adaptation in Unstable Environments and Global Gene Losses: Small but Stable Gene Networks by the May–Wigner Theory
Shaohua Xu,
Shao Shao,
Xiao Feng
et al.
Abstract:Although gene loss is common in evolution, it remains unclear whether it is an adaptive process. In a survey of seven major mangrove clades that are woody plants in the intertidal zones of daily environmental perturbations, we noticed that they generally evolved reduced gene numbers. We then focused on the largest clade of Rhizophoreae and observed the continual gene set reduction in each of the eight species. A great majority of gene losses are concentrated on environmental interaction processes, presumably t… Show more
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