Molecular Phylogenies Link Rates of Evolution and Speciation

Webster, Andrea J.; Payne, Robert J. H.; Pagel, Mark

doi:10.1126/science.1083202

Cited by 151 publications

(168 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…1). These results are in accordance with previous studies of a range of other taxa, which have found significant correlations between rates of molecular evolution and net diversification (6,(9)(10)(11)16).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Some previous studies have explained the correlation between rates of molecular evolution and diversification as being primarily the result of population subdivision associated with speciation events (9,10,16). It has been proposed that speciation will often be accompanied by a reduction in population size, for example if a population is divided by some barrier to gene flow.…”

Section: Indirect Links With Life History Do Not Explain the Correlationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1-4). However, the link between diversification and the rate of molecular evolution is still debated, with much of the attention focused on the role speciation plays in driving genetic change (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). Changes to specific genes have been linked to the development of reproductive isolation during species formation, and in some cases such genes have been shown to be under strong positive selection (reviewed in refs.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Mutation rate is linked to diversification in birds

Lanfear

Love

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

134

151

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How does genome evolution affect the rate of diversification of biological lineages? Recent studies have suggested that the overall rate of genome evolution is correlated with the rate of diversification. If true, this claim has important consequences for understanding the process of diversification, and implications for the use of DNA sequence data to reconstruct evolutionary history. However, the generality and cause of this relationship have not been established. Here, we test the relationship between the rate of molecular evolution and net diversification with a 19-gene, 17-kb DNA sequence dataset from 64 families of birds. We show that rates of molecular evolution are positively correlated to net diversification in birds. Using a 7.6-kb dataset of protein-coding DNA, we show that the synonymous substitution rate, and therefore the mutation rate, is correlated to net diversification. Further analysis shows that the link between mutation rates and net diversification is unlikely to be the indirect result of correlations with life-history variables that may influence both quantities, suggesting that there might be a causal link between mutation rates and net diversification.D iversification is the net result of the addition of species by speciation and the removal of species by extinction. Understanding the causes and consequences of diversification is central to evolutionary biology. Correlations between diversification, life history, and ecology are becoming increasingly well understood (e.g., refs. 1-4). However, the link between diversification and the rate of molecular evolution is still debated, with much of the attention focused on the role speciation plays in driving genetic change (5-13). Changes to specific genes have been linked to the development of reproductive isolation during species formation, and in some cases such genes have been shown to be under strong positive selection (reviewed in refs. 14 and 15). However, there is a growing body of evidence showing that diversification correlates positively with rates of DNA sequence evolution in "house-keeping" genes, which are associated with basic metabolic functions and, therefore, not expected to be directly involved in the process of diversification. These results raise the possibility that there is a general association between diversification and rates of genomic change.Previous studies have noted that clades of flowering plants containing more species tend to have longer molecular branch lengths (6, 11), and that path lengths on molecular phylogenies from a range of taxa tend to be positively correlated to the number of nodes through which they pass (16). These results suggest that net diversification-the balance between speciation and extinction rates that gave rise to the extant diversity-is somehow linked to rates of DNA change over time.One hypothesis put forward to explain the correlation between rates of molecular evolution and net diversification is that the process of speciation increases the rate of molecular evolution (10, 16). This ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Indirect Links With Life History Do Not Explain the Correlationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mutation rate is linked to diversification in birds

Lanfear

Love

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

134

151

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“…The correlation between molecular rates and species richness found in previous studies (Barraclough & Savolainen 2001;Webster et al 2003) is probably a result of the confounding effect of environmental energy. Wright (1983) argued that area itself had no direct effect, but rather represented an indirect measure of resource availability or energy.…”

Section: Environmental Correlates Ofmentioning

confidence: 78%

Environmental causes for plant biodiversity gradients

Davies

Barraclough

Savolainen

et al. 2004

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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One of the most pervasive patterns observed in biodiversity studies is the tendency for species richness to decline towards the poles. One possible explanation is that high levels of environmental energy promote higher species richness nearer the equator. Energy input may set a limit to the number of species that can coexist in an area or alternatively may influence evolutionary rates. Within flowering plants (angiosperms), families exposed to a high energy load tend to be both more species rich and possess faster evolutionary rates, although there is no evidence that one drives the other. Specific environmental effects are likely to vary among lineages, reflecting the interaction between biological traits and environmental conditions in which they are found. One example of this is demonstrated by the high species richness of the iris family (Iridaceae) in the Cape of South Africa, a likely product of biological traits associated with reproductive isolation and the steep ecological and climatic gradients of the region. Within any set of conditions some lineages will tend to be favoured over others; however, the identity of these lineages will fluctuate with a changing environment, explaining the highly labile nature of diversification rates observed among major lineages of flowering plants.

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“…Under the scenario of gene duplication, changed (e.g., accelerated) rates of genetic evolution for the ''surviving'' neo-or subfunctionalized genes should be expected. Lately, several studies demonstrated a connection between speciation net rates, and genetic change (Barraclough and Savolainen, 2001;Webster et al, 2003), indicating that rapid genetic evolution results may result in higher speciation rates.…”

Section: Wgd and Organismal Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution after gene duplication: models, mechanisms, sequences, systems, and organisms

et al. 2006

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Gene duplication is postulated to have played a major role in the evolution of biological novelty. Here, gene duplication is examined across levels of biological organization in an attempt to create a unified picture of the mechanistic process by which gene duplication can have played a role in generating biodiversity. Neofunctionalization and subfunctionalization have been proposed as important processes driving the retention of duplicate genes. These models have foundations in population genetic theory, which is now being refined by explicit consideration of the structural constraints placed upon genes encoding proteins through physical chemistry. Further, such models can be examined in the context of comparative genomics, where an integration of genelevel evolution and species-level evolution allows an assessment of the frequency of duplication and the fate of duplicate genes. This process, of course, is dependent upon the biochemical role that duplicated genes play in biological systems, which is in turn dependent upon the mechanism of duplication: whole genome duplication involving a co-duplication of interacting partners vs. single gene duplication. Lastly, the role that these processes may have played in driving speciation is examined.

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Molecular Phylogenies Link Rates of Evolution and Speciation

Cited by 151 publications

References 6 publications

Mutation rate is linked to diversification in birds

Mutation rate is linked to diversification in birds

Environmental causes for plant biodiversity gradients

Evolution after gene duplication: models, mechanisms, sequences, systems, and organisms

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