Captivity masks inbreeding effects on male mating success in butterflies

Small isolated populations are frequently genetically less diverse than core populations, resulting in higher homozygosity that can hamper their long-term survival. The decrease in fitness of organisms owing to matings between relatives is well known from captive and laboratory animals. Such inbreeding can have strongly deleterious effects on life-history traits and survival, and can be critical to the success of population conservation. Because pedigrees are hard to follow in the wild, most field studies have used marker loci to establish that fitness declines with increasing homozygosity. Very few have experimentally explored the effects of inbreeding in the wild, or compared observations in the laboratory with field conditions. Here, using a technique involving the transfer of marker dusts during copulation, we show that a small decrease in mating success of captive inbred male butterflies in cages is greatly accentuated in conditions with unconstrained flight. Our results have important implications for conservation and for studies of sexual selection because they show that the behaviours underlying patterns of mating can be profoundly influenced by a history of inbreeding or by any restraining experimental conditions.     

Interference among deleterious mutations favours sex and recombination in finite populations

Sex and recombination are widespread, but explaining these phenomena has been one of the most difficult problems in evolutionary biology. Recombination is advantageous when different individuals in a population carry different advantageous alleles. By bringing together advantageous alleles onto the same chromosome, recombination speeds up the process of adaptation and opposes the fixation of harmful mutations by means of Muller's ratchet. Nevertheless, adaptive substitutions favour sex and recombination only if the rate of adaptive mutation is high, and Muller's ratchet operates only in small or asexual populations. Here, by tracking the fate of modifier alleles that alter the frequency of sex and recombination, we show that background selection against deleterious mutant alleles provides a stochastic advantage to sex and recombination that increases with population size. The advantage arises because, with low levels of recombination, selection at other loci severely reduces the effective population size and genetic variance in fitness at a focal locus (the Hill-Robertson effect), making a population less able to respond to selection and to rid itself of deleterious mutations. Sex and recombination reveal the hidden genetic variance in fitness by combining chromosomes of intermediate fitness to create chromosomes that are relatively free of (or are loaded with) deleterious mutations. This increase in genetic variance within finite populations improves the response to selection and generates a substantial advantage to sex and recombination that is fairly insensitive to the form of epistatic interactions between deleterious alleles. The mechanism supported by our results offers a robust and broadly applicable explanation for the evolutionary advantage of recombination and can explain the spread of costly sex.     

马尾松育种进程中的遗传增益与遗传多样性变化

【目的】通过对广西马尾松3次改良过程中的遗传多样性及改良增益进行分析,总结育种进程中的遗传多样性变化动态。分析通过育种群体结构设计、选择方法提高改良效果的可行性,为制定马尾松长期育种策略及良种发展战略提供理论参考。【方法】以广西马尾松天然群体及第1代、第1.5代、第2代育种群体为材料,采用SSR标记分析其遗传多样性,根据遗传测定结果估算历次改良所得遗传增益。【结果】广西马尾松的第1次改良过程,获得约32%材积增益,损失约14%的低频等位基因,Shannon多样性指数(I)没有发生变化,观测杂合度(H_o)约上升27%。第2次改良过程获得19.34%的遗传增益,损失了约16%的低频等位基因,Shannon指数(I)约下降了6%,观测杂合度(H_o)没有变化,近交系数约下降了20%。第3次遗传改良过程获得23.68%的遗传增益,损失约12%的低频等位基因,Shannon指数(I)下降约25%,观测杂合度(H_o)下降约20%,近交系数下降约47%。【结论】广西马尾松 3次改良均获得了较高的遗传增益,并有效降低了群体的近交程度,遗传多样性损失相对较少。由此说明,所用的选择策略可以有效兼顾遗传增益与遗传多样性。     

Genetic similarity between mates and extra-pair parentage in three species of shorebirds

Matings between close relatives often reduce the fitness of offspring, probably because homozygosity leads to the expression of recessive deleterious alleles. Studies of several animals have shown that reproductive success is lower when genetic similarity between parents is high, and that survival and other measures of fitness increase with individual levels of genetic diversity. These studies indicate that natural selection may favour the avoidance of matings with genetically similar individuals. But constraints on social mate choice, such as a lack of alternatives, can lead to pairing with genetically similar mates. In such cases, it has been suggested that females may seek extra-pair copulations with less related males, but the evidence is weak or lacking. Here we report a strong positive relationship between the genetic similarity of social pair members and the occurrence of extra-pair paternity and maternity ('quasi-parasitism') in three species of shorebirds. We propose that extra-pair parentage may represent adaptive behavioural strategies to avoid the negative effects of pairing with a genetically similar mate.     

基于SSR标记的福建省闽楠代表性群体遗传多样性分析

【目的】闽楠(Phoebe bournei)是珍贵的用材树种,被列为国家Ⅱ级重点保护野生植物。以福建省内保存较好的3个代表性闽楠自然群体为对象,研究其群体间及群体内的遗传变异水平及遗传结构特征,探究其成因,为闽楠天然群体的保护和利用提供依据。【方法】利用自行开发的18个多态性SSR标记,对3个群体共计88个样本进行检测,利用Popgene 32软件,分析群体的有效等位基因数(N_e)、观测杂合度(H_o)、期望杂合度(H_e)、基因分化系数(F_st))等,利用Structure软件研究群体的遗传结构。【结果】3个闽楠群体的平均期望杂合度为0.629,表明遗传多样性较丰富;3个群体的平均观测杂合度明显低于期望杂合度,群体内近交程度较高[近交系数(F)=0.280)],尤其是罗卜岩群体H_o/H_e差异大(0.399/0.608)、近交程度高(F=0.378);分子变异分析显示,闽楠的变异主要来源于群体内,群体间存在中等程度的分化(F_st=0.197)。聚类分析结果表明,3个群体闽楠样本可明显区分为两类,两类间存在明显的遗传分化,福建罗卜岩和福建顺昌群体为第Ⅰ类,且两者地理位置较近;福建政和与其距离较远,为第Ⅱ类。【结论】福建闽楠3个代表性群体具有较高的遗传多样性,但具有小群体特征,群体内近交程度较高,而地理隔离和人为活动使闽楠具有一定程度的遗传分化;应采取措施使群体内充分异交,以维持闽楠群体较高的遗传多样性。     

Loss of genes on the short arm of chromosome 11 in bladder cancer

Recent studies have shown that normal cellular sequences on chromosome 13 are lost during the development of retinoblastomas and that sequences on chromosome 11 are similarly lost during the development of Wilms' kidney tumours and embryonal tumours. Cells from these tumors have been found to contain either the paternal or maternal copies of loci on the affected chromosome, but not both. Thus, the somatic loss of heterozygosity for sequences on chromosome 13 or 11 is hypothesized to result in homozygosity for a recessive mutant allele on these chromosomes, and in this way the chromosomal loss may contribute to the development of these tumours. We sought to investigate whether similar losses of heterozygosity for chromosome 11 sequences occurred in a common adult tumour. We chose to analyse bladder cancers, since such cancers are common in the adult population and are derived from urogenital tissue, as are Wilms' tumours. We examined constitutional and tumour genotypes at loci on the short arm of chromosome 11 (11p) in 12 patients with transitional cell carcinomas. In five tumours, we observed the somatic loss of genes on 11p resulting in homozygosity or hemizygosity of the non-deleted alleles in the tumour cells. Our results show that the frequency of loss of 11p sequences in bladder cancer approaches that seen in Wilms' tumour (42% compared with 55%), and suggest that recessive genetic changes involving sequences on 11p may contribute to the development of bladder neoplasms.     

陈山红心杉1.5代种子园遗传多样性和子代父本分析

[目的]陈山红心杉是江西特有的杉木优良种源,其近髓心的木质部为高比例的油亮栗褐色,是工艺建筑和室内装潢极为宝贵的天然材料.对陈山红心杉1.5代种子园进行遗传多样性和子代父本分析,为红心杉种子园的管理提供科学依据.[方法]以江西省青原区白云山林场陈山红心杉1.5代种子园及其子代测定林为研究材料,利用12对SSR引物,对种...     

不同地理种群杂色鲍的同工酶分析

采用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶垂直电泳技术，对采白海南三亚、香港和福建平潭3个野生杂色鲍种群，以及1个种源来自台湾的九孔鲍养殖群体共4个群体的6种同工酶系统进行分析，共检测到10个基因位点，其中2个为多态位点(多态位点比例为20％)，每个位点平均等位基因数为1．2；4个群体都不同程度地表现出纯合子过剩、杂合子不足，遗传变异量偏低．群体间遗传相似系数与遗传距离以及UPGMA聚类分析的结果表明：4个群体之间的遗传差异不大，遗传距离均小于0．01．属于种群差异水平．九孔鲍和杂色鲍的遗传差异达不到亚种水平．     

Detecting recent positive selection in the human genome from haplotype structure

The ability to detect recent natural selection in the human population would have profound implications for the study of human history and for medicine. Here, we introduce a framework for detecting the genetic imprint of recent positive selection by analysing long-range haplotypes in human populations. We first identify haplotypes at a locus of interest (core haplotypes). We then assess the age of each core haplotype by the decay of its association to alleles at various distances from the locus, as measured by extended haplotype homozygosity (EHH). Core haplotypes that have unusually high EHH and a high population frequency indicate the presence of a mutation that rose to prominence in the human gene pool faster than expected under neutral evolution. We applied this approach to investigate selection at two genes carrying common variants implicated in resistance to malaria: G6PD and CD40 ligand. At both loci, the core haplotypes carrying the proposed protective mutation stand out and show significant evidence of selection. More generally, the method could be used to scan the entire genome for evidence of recent positive selection.     

An amino-acid substitution involved in phenylketonuria is in linkage disequilibrium with DNA haplotype 2

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive human genetic disorder caused by a deficiency of hepatic phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH, phenylalanine 4-monooxygenase, EC 1.14.16.1). PKU is a common inborn error of amino-acid metabolism in caucasian populations and approximately 1 in 50 individuals are carriers of a PKU allele. To define the molecular basis of PKU, we characterized twelve restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) haplotypes of the PAH locus in the northern European population and observed that 90% of the PKU alleles in this population are confined to four common RFLP haplotypes. We have recently reported a splicing mutation in the PAH gene that is associated with RFLP haplotype 3 which is present at about 40% of mutant alleles. We now report the molecular lesion associated with the RFLP haplotype 2 mutant allele. This defect is caused by a C-to-T transition in exon 12 resulting in an amino-acid substitution (Arg to Trp) at residue 408 of PAH. Direct hybridization analysis of the point mutation using a specific oligonucleotide probe demonstrated that this mutation is also in linkage disequilibrium with RFLP haplotype 2 alleles that make up about 20% of mutant PAH genes.     

Sexually antagonistic genetic variation for fitness in red deer

Evolutionary theory predicts the depletion of genetic variation in natural populations as a result of the effects of selection, but genetic variation is nevertheless abundant for many traits that are under directional or stabilizing selection. Evolutionary geneticists commonly try to explain this paradox with mechanisms that lead to a balance between mutation and selection. However, theoretical predictions of equilibrium genetic variance under mutation-selection balance are usually lower than the observed values, and the reason for this is unknown. The potential role of sexually antagonistic selection in maintaining genetic variation has received little attention in this debate, surprisingly given its potential ubiquity in dioecious organisms. At fitness-related loci, a given genotype may be selected in opposite directions in the two sexes. Such sexually antagonistic selection will reduce the otherwise-expected positive genetic correlation between male and female fitness. Both theory and experimental data suggest that males and females of the same species may have divergent genetic optima, but supporting data from wild populations are still scarce. Here we present evidence for sexually antagonistic fitness variation in a natural population, using data from a long-term study of red deer (Cervus elaphus). We show that male red deer with relatively high fitness fathered, on average, daughters with relatively low fitness. This was due to a negative genetic correlation between estimates of fitness in males and females. In particular, we show that selection favours males that carry low breeding values for female fitness. Our results demonstrate that sexually antagonistic selection can lead to a trade-off between the optimal genotypes for males and females; this mechanism will have profound effects on the operation of selection and the maintenance of genetic variation in natural populations.     

Maintaining a behaviour polymorphism by frequency-dependent selection on a single gene

Accounting for the abundance of genetic variation in the face of natural selection remains a central problem of evolutionary biology. Genetic polymorphisms are constantly arising through mutation, and although most are promptly eliminated, polymorphisms in functionally important traits are common. One mechanism that can maintain polymorphisms is negative frequency-dependent selection on alternative alleles, whereby the fitness of each decreases as its frequency increases. Examples of frequency-dependent selection are rare, especially when attempting to describe the genetic basis of the phenotype under selection. Here we show frequency-dependent selection in a well-known natural genetic polymorphism affecting fruitfly foraging behaviour. When raised in low nutrient conditions, both of the naturally occurring alleles of the foraging gene (for(s) and for(R)) have their highest fitness when rare-the hallmark of negative frequency-dependent selection. This effect disappears at higher resources levels, demonstrating the role of larval competition. We are able to confirm the involvement of the foraging gene by showing that a sitter-like mutant allele on a rover background has similar frequency-dependent fitness as the natural sitter allele. Our study represents a clear demonstration of frequency-dependent selection, and we are able to attribute this effect to a single, naturally polymorphic gene known to affect behaviour.     

Relative fitness can decrease in evolving asexual populations of S. cerevisiae

It is generally accepted from the darwinian theory of evolution that a progressive increase in population adaptation will occur in populations containing genetic variation in fitness, until a stable equilibrium is reached and/or the additive genetic variation is exhausted. However, the theoretical literature of population genetics documents exceptions where mean population fitness may decrease in response to evolutionary changes in gene frequency, due to varying selective coefficients, sexual selection or to epistatic interactions between loci. Until now, no examples of such exceptions have been documented from fitness estimates in either natural or experimental populations. We present here direct evidence that, as a result of epistatic interactions between adaptive mutations, mean population fitness can decrease in asexual evolving populations of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

生境片断化对植物的遗传影响

生境片断化指大片连续的生境被分割成空间隔离的小生境的现象。通常认为，生境片断化使植物残遗种群由于经历随机遗传漂变和高水平的近交以及基因流的下降，而发生遗传侵蚀，遗传多样性下降，遗传结构改变，变得更加分化。但近期的研究证明，并不是所有的片断化事件都导致植物种群遗传变异丧失，且种群问的基因流甚至有可能增加了。片断化对植物种群的遗传作用还受到诸如世代长短的种间差异、片断化前的丰富度、有性和无性繁殖系统的多样性、种子库以及和传粉媒介及种子传播者的相互作用等的影响。     

基于优化极限学习机的非侵入式负荷识别

在极限学习机的非侵入式负荷识别算法中,由于输入权值和隐含层阈值的随机产生容易导致误判,鉴于此,提出了一种改进的遗传算法优化极限学习机方法.对遗传算法中选择算子进行改进,改进方法为求解出个体的适应度值,并按从小到大的顺序完成排序,将排完序的种群等分成4份,按照比例从4份中择优组成新种群,对新种群中剩余个体再从适应度较大的...     

A closely linked genetic marker for cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disorder, characterized clinically by chronic obstructive lung disease, pancreatic insufficiency and elevated sweat electrolytes; affected individuals rarely live past their early twenties. Cystic fibrosis is also one of the most common genetic diseases in the northern European population. The frequency of carriers of mutant alleles in some populations is estimated to be as high as 1 in 20, carrying a concomitant burden of about one affected child in 1,500 births. Because little is known of the essential biochemical defect caused by the mutant gene, a genetic linkage approach based on arbitrary genetic markers and family studies is indicated to determine the chromosomal location of the cystic fibrosis (CF) gene. We have now obtained evidence for tight linkage between the CF locus and a DNA sequence polymorphism at the met oncogene locus. This evidence, combined with the physical localization data for the met locus presented in the accompanying paper, places the CF locus in the middle third of the long arm of chromosome 7, probably between bands q21 and q31.     

Incipient speciation by divergent adaptation and antagonistic epistasis in yeast

Establishing the conditions that promote the evolution of reproductive isolation and speciation has long been a goal in evolutionary biology. In ecological speciation, reproductive isolation between populations evolves as a by-product of divergent selection and the resulting environment-specific adaptations. The leading genetic model of reproductive isolation predicts that hybrid inferiority is caused by antagonistic epistasis between incompatible alleles at interacting loci. The fundamental link between divergent adaptation and reproductive isolation through genetic incompatibilities has been predicted, but has not been directly demonstrated experimentally. Here we empirically tested key predictions of speciation theory by evolving the initial stages of speciation in experimental populations of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. After replicate populations adapted to two divergent environments, we consistently observed the evolution of two forms of postzygotic isolation in hybrids: reduced rate of mitotic reproduction and reduced efficiency of meiotic reproduction. This divergent selection resulted in greater reproductive isolation than parallel selection, as predicted by the ecological speciation theory. Our experimental system allowed controlled comparison of the relative importance of ecological and genetic isolation, and we demonstrated that hybrid inferiority can be ecological and/or genetic in basis. Overall, our results show that adaptation to divergent environments promotes the evolution of reproductive isolation through antagonistic epistasis, providing evidence of a plausible common avenue to speciation and adaptive radiation in nature.     

林木改良中育种群的概念应用和发展

育种群是组成整个育种群体的多个亚群体,其意义相当于农作物育种的近交系。在美国的一些林木育种项目中,育种群已用来控制种子园的近交、捕获最大的遗传增益的有效措施。育种群的建立不会改变各群内的育种值,但每个育种群内的遗传变异会随近交系数的增加而增加,这为我们在群内选优提供了更大的选择余地。此外,建立育种群只增加一些档案记录工作,并不增加野外工作量。     

Microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA assessment of the genetic diversity of captive Saiga antelopes (Saiga tatarica) in China

To estimate the genetic diversity of the only captive Saiga antelope(Saiga tatarica) population in China,40 umbilical cord samples were collected and mitochondrial(control region) and nuclear(microsatellite) variabilities were assessed.Both of the markers revealed low genetic variability(or high genetic homogeneity) within the population.The microsatellites yielded monitoring ranges of 2-6 alleles.The observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.28 to 0.83,and the expected heterozygosities were between 0.27 and 0.71.The Shannon information index(Shannon I) and Polymorphic Information Content(PIC) presented overall means of 0.87 and 0.43,respectively.The gene diversity was 0.49.We found only two haplotypes in the population,and the haplotype and nucleotide diversities were 39.1% and 1.13%,respectively.Founder events,bottlenecks and inbreeding have contributed to the low genetic variation observed in this population.Our findings revealed the extent of genetic diversity maintained in the present population and the urgency of implementing a protection plan,introducing animals from other populations to enhance saiga’s genetic variation.     

基于改进自适应遗传算法的组卷研究

针对遗传算法容易出现早熟和收敛速度慢的问题,根据群体适应值分布的变化特点,启发性地提出了一种新的基于小生境技术的自适应遗传算法（ANGA）。根据群体中各个个体的适应值分布情况加以启发,引入了一个自适应的常数Cmin,通过白适应调整Cmin以适时改变群体适应值的分布,优化了各个个体被选择的概率。详细介绍了ANGA应用于组卷问题的步骤。涵盖了其中的各项关键技术：组卷策略、编码方案、适应值函数的确定、选择交叉变异箅子的实现。并以目前的计算机等级考试三级信息管理技术的组卷为例,采用ANGA算法进行了仿真计算。仿真结果表明,ANGA算法能够成功地应用于自动组卷。算法能够以100％的概率在较短的时问内完成组卷,组卷效率高、成功率高;且算法对初值不敏感．具有较好的鲁棒性。