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44 results for “natural selection and evolution”
Data from: Contrasting the effects of natural selection, genetic drift and gene flow on urban evolution in white clover (Trifolium repens)
Urbanization is a global phenomenon with profound effects on the ecology and evolution of organisms. We examined the relative roles of natural selection, genetic drift and gene flow in influencing the evolution of white clover (Trifolium repens), which thrives in urban and rural areas. Trifolium repens exhibits a Mendelian polymorphism for the production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN), a potent antiherbivore defence. We quantified the relative frequency of HCN in 490 populations sampled along urban-rural transects in 20 cities. We also characterized genetic variation within 120 populations in eight cities using 16 microsatellite loci. HCN frequency increased by 0.6% for every km from an urban centre, and the strength of this relationship did not significantly vary between cities. Populations did not exhibit changes in genetic diversity with increasing urbanization, indicating that genetic drift is unlikely to explain urban-rural clines in HCN frequency. Populations frequently exhibited isolation-by-distance and extensive gene flow along most urban-rural transects, with the exception of a single city that exhibited genetic differentiation between urban and rural populations. Our results show that urbanization repeatedly drives parallel evolution of an ecologically important trait across many cities that vary in size, and this evolution is best explained by urban-rural gradients in natural selection.
Data from: Correlation of shell phenotype and local environment suggests a role for natural selection in the evolution of Placostylus snails
The giant edible Placostylus snails of New Caledonia occur across a wide range of environmental conditions, from the dry southwest to the wetter central and northeastern regions. In large, slow-moving animals such as Placostylus, speciation could be assumed to be largely driven by allopatry and genetic drift as opposed to natural selection. We examined variation in shell morphology using geometric morphometrics and genetic structure within two species of Placostylus (P. fibratus, P. porphyrostomus), to determine the drivers of diversity in this group. Despite the current patchy distribution of snails on New Caledonia, both mtDNA and nuclear SNP data sets (>3000 loci) showed weak admixing between populations and species. Shell morphology was concordant with the genetic clusters we identified and had a strong relationship with local environment. The genetic data, in contrast to the morphological data, did not show concordance with climatic conditions, suggesting the snails are not limited in their ability to adapt to different environments. In sympatry, P. fibratus and P. porphyrostomus maintained genetic and morphological differences, suggesting a genetic basis of phenotypic variation. Convergence of shell shape was observed in two adjacent populations that are genetically isolated but experience similar habitat and climatic conditions. Conversely, some populations in contrasting environments were morphologically distinct although genetically indistinguishable. We infer that morphological divergence in the Placostylus snails of New Caledonia is mediated by adaptation to the local environment.
Data from: Ontogeny can provide insight into the roles of natural and sexual selection in cricket cuticular hydrocarbon evolution
<p>The often complex cocktails of hydrocarbon compounds found on the cuticles of insects can serve both naturally and sexually selected functions, contributing to an individual's ability to withstand water loss and attract mating partners. However, whether natural and sexual selection act synergistically or antagonistically on a species' cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile remains unclear. Here we examined the ontogeny of the CHC profile in a species of cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus while manipulating humidity during development. We predicted that juvenile crickets should produce only those compounds that contribute to desiccation resistance, while those compounds contributing specifically to male attractiveness should be produced only at sexual maturity. Further, if attractive CHCs come at a cost to desiccation resistance as predicted by some models of sexual selection, then males reared under low humidity should be constrained to invest less in attractive CHCs. Crickets reared under low humidity produced more long chained methyl branched alkanes, alkenes and alkadienes than did crickets reared under high humidity. The abundance of n-alkanes was unaffected by humidity treatment. Sexual dimorphism in the CHC profile was not apparent until adult emergence and became exaggerated 10 days after emergence when crickets were sexually mature. Males produced more of the same compounds that were increased in both sexes under low humidity, but the humidity treatment did not interact with sex in determining CHC abundance. The data suggest that CHC profiles which protect crickets from desiccation might have synergistic effects on male attractiveness, as there was no evidence to suggest males trade-off a CHC profile produced in response to low humidity for one associated with sexual signalling.</p>
Data from: Divergent natural selection drives the evolution of reproductive isolation in an Australian wildflower
Ecological speciation occurs when reproductive isolation evolves between populations adapting to contrasting environments. A key prediction of this process is that the fitness of hybrids between divergent populations should be reduced in each parental environment as a function of the proportion of local genes they carry, a process resulting in ecologically dependent reproductive isolation (RI). To test this prediction, we use reciprocal transplant experiments between adjacent populations of an Australian wildflower, Senecio lautus, at two locations to distinguish between ecologically dependent and intrinsic genetic reproductive barriers. These barriers can be distinguished by observing the relative fitness of reciprocal backcross hybrids, as they differ in the contribution of genes from either parent while controlling for any intrinsic fitness effects of hybridization. We show ecologically dependent fitness effects in establishment and survival of backcrosses in one transplant experiment, and growth performance in the second transplant experiment. These results suggests natural selection can create strong reproductive barriers that maintain differentiation between populations with the potential to interbreed, and implies a significant role for ecology in the evolutionary divergence of S. lautus.
Data from: Divergent natural selection drives the evolution of reproductive isolation in an Australian wildflower
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Data from: Contrasting the effects of natural selection, genetic drift and gene flow on urban evolution in white clover (Trifolium repens)
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Data from: Hybridization, natural selection and evolution of reproductive isolation: a 25-years survey of an artificial sympatric area between two mosquito sibling species of the Aedes mariae complex
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Phenotypic variability can promote the evolution of adaptive plasticity by reducing the stringency of natural selection
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Data from: Ontogeny can provide insight into the roles of natural and sexual selection in cricket cuticular hydrocarbon evolution
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Data from: Evolution of pre-mating reproductive isolation among conspecific populations of the sea rock-pool beetle Ochthebius urbanelliae driven by reinforcing natural selection
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Data from: Contemporary evolution during invasion: evidence for differentiation, natural selection, and local adaptation
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Data from: Correlation of shell phenotype and local environment suggests a role for natural selection in the evolution of Placostylus snails
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Data from: Recent natural selection causes adaptive evolution of an avian polygenic trait
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Data from: Natural selection interacts with recombination to shape the evolution of hybrid genomes
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Data for: Natural selection on adults has trait-dependent consequences for juvenile evolution in dragonflies
<p>Although natural selection often varies across ontogeny, it remains unclear what conditions enable selection in one life-cycle stage to shape evolution in others. Organisms that undergo metamorphosis are useful for addressing this topic because, despite the dramatic life-history transition that separates their highly specialized life-cycle stages, the stages only exhibit evolutionary independence in some cases. Using a comparative study of dragonflies, we examined three conditions that are hypothesized to allow selection in one stage to affect evolution in others. First, contrary to predictions that life-cycle stages in lineages with less dramatic metamorphoses (e.g. hemimetabolous insects) do not evolve independently, we found that the evolution of larval body shape is not affected by selection on adult shape. Next, supporting the hypothesis that homologous and/or co-adapted structures do not evolve independently, selection for larger wings are associated with the evolution of a functionally co-adapted larval trait, the sheaths that store developing wing tissue. Finally, consistent with expectations of minimal stage-specific evolution in traits linked to a single biochemical pathway, species with more wing melanization have evolved weaker larval melanin immune defenses. Thus, even in organisms that undergo metamorphosis, some kinds of traits may have greater capacity for stage-specific evolution than others.</p>
Data from: Sexual and natural selection in the evolution of extended phenotypes: the use of green nesting material in starlings
Although sexual selection is typically considered the predominant force driving the evolution of ritualized sexual behaviors, natural selection may also play an important and often underappreciated role. The use of green aromatic plants among nesting birds has been interpreted as a component of extended phenotype that evolved either via natural selection due to potential sanitary functions, or via sexual selection as a signal of male attractiveness. Here we compared both hypotheses using comparative methods in starlings, a group where this behavior is widespread. We found that the use of green plants was positively related to male-biased size dimorphism, and that it was most likely to occur among cavity-nesting species. These results suggest that this behavior is likely favored by sexual selection, but also related to its sanitary use in response to higher parasite loads in cavities. We speculate that the use of green plants in starlings may be facilitated by cavity nesting, and was subsequently co-opted as a sexual signal by males. Our results represent an example of how an extended phenotypic component of males becomes sexually selected by females. Thus, both natural and sexual selection are necessary to fully understand the evolution of ritualized behaviors involved in courtship.
Data from: Genomic analysis of codon usage shows influence of mutation pressure, natural selection, and host features on Marburg virus evolution
Background. The Marburg virus (MARV) has a negative-sense single-stranded RNA genome, belongs to the family Filoviridae, and is responsible for several outbreaks of highly fatal hemorrhagic fever. Codon usage patterns of viruses reflect a series of evolutionary changes that enable viruses to shape their survival rates and fitness toward the external environment and, most importantly, their hosts. To understand the evolution of MARV at the codon level, we report a comprehensive analysis of synonymous codon usage patterns in MARV genomes. Multiple codon analysis approaches and statistical methods were performed to determine overall codon usage patterns, biases in codon usage, and influence of various factors, including mutation pressure, natural selection, and its two hosts, Homo sapiens and Rousettus aegyptiacus. Results. Nucleotide composition and relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) analysis revealed that MARV shows mutation bias and prefers U- and A-ended codons to code amino acids. Effective number of codons analysis indicated that overall codon usage among MARV genomes is slightly biased. The Parity Rule 2 plot analysis showed that GC and AU nucleotides were not used proportionally which accounts for the presence of natural selection. Codon usage patterns of MARV were also found to be influenced by its hosts. This indicates that MARV have evolved codon usage patterns that are specific to both of its hosts. Moreover, selection pressure from R. aegyptiacus on the MARV RSCU patterns was found to be dominant compared with that from H. sapiens. Overall, mutation pressure was found to be the most important and dominant force that shapes codon usage patterns in MARV. Conclusions. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed codon usage analysis of MARV and extends our understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to codon usage and evolution of MARV.
Data from: Genomic analysis of codon usage shows influence of mutation pressure, natural selection, and host features on Marburg virus evolution
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Data for: Natural selection on adults has trait-dependent consequences for juvenile evolution in dragonflies
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Data from: Sex-specific effects of natural and sexual selection on the evolution of life span and ageing in Drosophila simulans
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.