The Evolution of Recombination: Removing the Limits to Natural Selection

INVESTIGATIONS

The Evolution of Recombination: Removing the Limits to Natural Selection

S. P. Otto and N. H. Barton
Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4

One of the oldest hypotheses for the advantage of recombination is that recombination allows beneficial mutations that arise in different individuals to be placed together on the same chromosome. Unless recombination occurs, one of the beneficial alleles is doomed to extinction, slowing the rate at which adaptive mutations are incorporated within a population. We model the effects of a modifier of recombination on the fixation probability of beneficial mutations when beneficial alleles are segregating at other loci. We find that modifier alleles that increase recombination do increase the fixation probability of beneficial mutants and subsequently hitchhike along as the mutants rise in frequency. The strength of selection favoring a modifier that increases recombination is proportional to {lambda}(2)S{delta}r/r when linkage is tight and {lambda}(2)S(3){delta} r/N when linkage is loose, where {lambda} is the beneficial mutation rate per genome per generation throughout a population of size N, S is the average mutant effect, r is the average recombination rate, and {delta}r is the amount that recombination is modified. We conclude that selection for recombination will be substantial only if there is tight linkage within the genome or if many loci are subject to directional selection as during periods of rapid evolutionary change.

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				G. Martin, S. P. Otto, and T. Lenormand Selection for Recombination in Structured Populations Genetics, January 1, 2006; 172(1): 593 - 609. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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				I. M. Rouzine and J. M. Coffin Evolution of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Under Selection and Weak Recombination Genetics, May 1, 2005; 170(1): 7 - 18. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. H. Barton and S. P. Otto Evolution of Recombination Due to Random Drift Genetics, April 1, 2005; 169(4): 2353 - 2370. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Santiago and A. Caballero Variation After a Selective Sweep in a Subdivided Population Genetics, January 1, 2005; 169(1): 475 - 483. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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				S. Palsson Selection on a Modifier of Recombination Rate Due to Linked Deleterious Mutations J. Hered., January 1, 2002; 93(1): 22 - 26. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Comeron and M. Kreitman The Correlation Between Intron Length and Recombination in Drosophila: Dynamic Equilibrium Between Mutational and Selective Forces Genetics, November 1, 2000; 156(3): 1175 - 1190. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				T. Lenormand and S. P. Otto The Evolution of Recombination in a Heterogeneous Environment Genetics, September 1, 2000; 156(1): 423 - 438. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				G. A. T. McVean and B. Charlesworth The Effects of Hill-Robertson Interference Between Weakly Selected Mutations on Patterns of Molecular Evolution and Variation Genetics, June 1, 2000; 155(2): 929 - 944. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				H. A. Orr The Rate of Adaptation in Asexuals Genetics, June 1, 2000; 155(2): 961 - 968. [Abstract] [Full Text]

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