Why have sex? The population genetics of sex and recombination

Otto, Sarah P.; Gerstein, Aleeza C.

doi:10.1042/bst0340519

Cited by 94 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…On the other hand, increased recombination may be favored when population is initially far from an equilibrium and is subject to deleterious mutations or to directional selection, under conditions, provided that there is weak negative (synergistic) epistasis among alleles, i.e. if they cause more harmful effect in combination than separately (Otto and Gerstein, 2006). However, synergism is not a sufficient condition for recombination to be favored because decreased recombination can be favored under strong synergism with low mutation rates and loosely linked modifiers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome analyses and modelling the relationships between coding density, recombination rate and chromosome length

Mackiewicz¹,

Zawierta²,

Waga³

et al. 2010

Journal of Theoretical Biology

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This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting galley proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dorota@smorfland.uni.wroc.pl AbstractIn the human genomes, recombination frequency between homologous chromosomes during meiosis is highly correlated with their physical length while it differs significantly when their coding density is considered. Furthermore, it has been observed that the recombination events are distributed unevenly along the chromosomes. We have found that many of such recombination properties can be predicted by computer simulations of population evolution based on the Monte Carlo methods. For example, these simulations have shown that the probability of acceptance of the recombination events by selection is higher at the ends of chromosomes and lower in their middle parts. The regions of high coding density are more prone to enter the strategy of haplotype complementation and to form clusters of genes which are "recombination deserts". The phenomenon of switching in-between the purifying selection and haplotype complementation has a phase transition character, and many relations between the effective population size, coding density, chromosome size and recombination frequency are those of the power law type.2

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome analyses and modelling the relationships between coding density, recombination rate and chromosome length

Mackiewicz¹,

Zawierta²,

Waga³

et al. 2010

Journal of Theoretical Biology

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“…From the host perspective, condition is affected by pathogen load, and 'condition-dependent' can become 'infection-dependent' when pathogen pressure is significant. According to the Red Queen hypothesis [54,55], coevolution of hosts and pathogens produces oscillations in the frequencies of different genotypes and can favour the evolution of sex. In such cases, theoretical models suggest that infection-dependent sex is even more successful than infection-independent sex [17].…”

Section: The Effects Of Condition-dependent Sex On Adaptation and DIVmentioning

confidence: 99%

Condition-dependent sex: who does it, when and why?

Ram¹,

Hadany²

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One contribution of 15 to a theme issue 'Weird sex: the underappreciated diversity of sexual reproduction'. We review the phenomenon of condition-dependent sex-where individuals' condition affects the likelihood that they will reproduce sexually rather than asexually. In recent years, condition-dependent sex has been studied both theoretically and empirically. Empirical results in microbes, fungi and plants support the theoretical prediction that negative condition-dependent sex, in which individuals in poor condition are more likely to reproduce sexually, can be evolutionarily advantageous under a wide range of settings. Here, we review the evidence for condition-dependent sex and its potential implications for the long-term survival and adaptability of populations. We conclude by asking why condition-dependent sex is not more commonly observed, and by considering generalizations of condition-dependent sex that might apply even for obligate sexuals.This article is part of the themed issue 'Weird sex: the underappreciated diversity of sexual reproduction'.

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“…Such a model would be substantially more complex than ours, as selection can be simulated only in a population-based model capable of tracking multiple alleles of multiple loci. The model could be run with and without the kinds of recombination benefits previously identified by evolution-of-sex theory (Otto and Gerstein 2006), and the outcomes could then be compared to each other and to the properties of uptake sequences in real genomes. FIGURE S1.-Sequence logos of uptake sequence motifs derived from unbiased genome searches.…”

Section: 10mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial DNA Uptake Sequences Can Accumulate by Molecular Drive Alone

Maughan¹,

Wilson²,

Redfield

2010

Genetics

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Uptake signal sequences are DNA motifs that promote DNA uptake by competent bacteria in the family Pasteurellaceae and the genus Neisseria. The genomes of these bacteria contain many copies of their canonical uptake sequence (often .100-fold overrepresentation), so the bias of the uptake machinery causes cells to prefer DNA derived from close relatives over DNA from other sources. However, the molecular and evolutionary forces responsible for the abundance of uptake sequences in these genomes are not well understood, and their presence is not easily explained by any of the current models of the evolution of competence. Here we describe use of a computer simulation model to thoroughly evaluate the simplest explanation for uptake sequences, that they accumulate in genomes by a form of molecular drive generated by biased DNA uptake and evolutionarily neutral (i.e., unselected) recombination. In parallel we used an unbiased search algorithm to characterize genomic uptake sequences and DNA uptake assays to refine the Haemophilus influenzae uptake specificity. These analyses showed that biased uptake and neutral recombination are sufficient to drive uptake sequences to high densities, with the spacings, stabilities, and strong consensuses typical of uptake sequences in real genomes. This result greatly simplifies testing of hypotheses about the benefits of DNA uptake, because it explains how genomes could have passively accumulated sequences matching the bias of their uptake machineries.

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Why have sex? The population genetics of sex and recombination

Cited by 94 publications

References 35 publications

Genome analyses and modelling the relationships between coding density, recombination rate and chromosome length

Genome analyses and modelling the relationships between coding density, recombination rate and chromosome length

Condition-dependent sex: who does it, when and why?

Bacterial DNA Uptake Sequences Can Accumulate by Molecular Drive Alone

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