Transcript Document
Modeling evolutionary genetics
Jason Wolf
Department of ecology and evolutionary biology
University of Tennessee
Goals of evolutionary genetics
– Basis of genetic and phenotypic variation
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# and effects of genes
gene interactions
pleiotropic effects of genes
genotype-phenotype relationship
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Distribution of mutational effects
Recombination
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Drift
Selection
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within and among populations (metapop. structure)
within and among species
clinal variation
– Origin of variation
– Maintenance of variation
– Distribution of variation
Major questions
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Molecular evolution
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Character evolution
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Process of population differentiation
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Process of speciation
– rate of neutral and selected sequence changes
– gene and genome structure
– rate of evolution
– predicted or reconstructed direction of
– evolutionary constraints
– genotype-phenotype relationship (development)
– outbreeding depression and hybrid inviability
– genetic differentiation
– reproductive isolation
Approaches
• Traditionally two major approaches
have been used
– Mendelian population genetics
• examine dynamics of a limited # of alleles at a
limited # of loci
– quantitative genetics
• assume a large # of genes of small effect
• continuous variation
• statistical description of genetics and evolution
Population genetic example
• Example captures basic approach to
evolutionary models
– evolution proceeds by changes in the
frequencies of alleles
– basic processes underlie almost all other
approaches to modeling
• Conclusions from simple pop-gen
models can be a useful first approach
A population genetic model
• Assumptions
– a single locus with two alleles (A and a)
– diploid population
– random mating
– discrete generations
– large population size
The population
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With random mating the frequencies of the
three genotypes are the product of the
individual allele frequencies
This is the “Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium”
F(A) = p
F(a) = q
AA
Aa
aa
p2
2pq
q2
Selection
Genotype
Freq. before selection
AA
Aa
p2
2pq
Total
aa
q2
Relative fitness
wAA
wAa
waa
After selection
p2 wAA
2pq wAa
q2 waa
p2 wAA
2pq wAa
q2 waa
w
w
w
Normalized
1 = p2 + 2pq + q2
w p2w AA 2pqwAa q 2waa
Evolution
Allele frequencies in the next generation
p2w AA pqwAa
p
w
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pqwAa q 2waa
q
w
Selection biases probability of sampling the two
alleles when constructing the next generation
Genotype frequencies are still in H-W equilibrium at
the frequencies defined by p and q
Selection
• Can define any mode of selection
– frequency dependence
– overdominance
– diversifying
– sexual
– kin
An example
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Assume overdominance (heterozygote
superiority)
fitness of Aa is greater than the fitness of AA
or aa
wAA = 0.9
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wAa = 1
waa = 0.8
What is the equilibrium allele frequency?
Equilibrium
Change in allele frequency across generations
p - p
pq p(w AA w Aa ) q(w Aa waa )
p
w
Equilibrium frequency ( pˆ ) reached when p = 0
0 pˆ (w AA w Aa ) qˆ (w Aa waa )
Equilibrium
pˆ
w Aa waa
2w Aa w AA waa
For our example:
pˆ
w Aa waa
1 0.8
2
2w Aa w AA waa 2 0.9 0.8 3
Stability of equilibrium can be assessed by a Taylor
series expansion about pˆ
Other factors to consider
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Lots of questions remain and can be
addressed in this framework
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effects of non-random mating
• inbreeding
• limited migration
• metapopulation structure
• other modes of assortative mating
effects of sampling variance (drift)
• behavior of non-selected alleles
• interaction between drift and selection
Inbreeding
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Non-random mating (between related individuals)
Leads to correlation between genotypes of mates
Frequencies are no longer products of allele
frequencies
Leads to reduction in heterozygosity (measured by F)
AA
p2 + pqF
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Aa
2pq - 2pqF
aa
q2 + pqF
Can rederive evolutionary equations using these new
genotype frequencies
Drift
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Is random variation in allele frequencies due to
sampling error of gametes
– sampling probabilities are given by the binomial
probability function
Sampling variance depends on population size (N)
The probability of a population having i alleles of type
A (where i has a value between 0 and 2N):
2 N i 2 N 1
Pr( i )
p q
i
i
p
2N
Drift
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Can model probability of fixation (p = 0 or 1)
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rate of molecular evolution
neutral theory
molecular clocks
Can combine with selection
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deterministic versus stochastic dynamics
Can introduce mutations
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balance of mutation and drift
Changes through time can be modeled with
differential equations and a diffusion approximation
Other questions
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Can look at dynamics through time to examine
common ancestry
Can be used to examine relationships of genes,
populations and species
Coalescent models examine the probability that two
alleles were derived from the same common ancestor
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looks back in time until a common ancestor is found – this is
a coalescent event
various models are used to calculate these probabilities
Coalescent events are nodes in a tree of
diversification
More complex genetic systems
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Dynamics of the 1 locus system are easily
expanded to a 2 locus system
– allows for consideration of linkage between loci
and interactions between loci (epistasis)
– can model more complex modes of selection (e.g.,
sexual selection)
– can examine dynamics of simultaneous selection
at two loci (interference)
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Dynamics of a 3 locus system start to
become too cumbersome to work with
analytically (27 genotypes)
Quantitative genetics
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More complex genetic systems are too
complex to model using the algebra of pop.
gen. models
Potentially very large number of genes
contribute to trait variation
– human genome contains 40-70,000 genes
Effect of each locus is likely to be very small
Most traits have continuous variation anyway
(e.g., body size, seed production)
From genes to distributions
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Number of genotype classes increases exponentially
as # of loci increases
Distribution becomes increasingly smooth as # of
classes increases
Continuous random variation smoothes distribution
Genotype classes vanish and a continuous
distribution emerges
This distribution can be described by statistical
parameters (mean, variance, covariance etc.)
Parameters can be used to model aggregate
behavior of genes
Evolution
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Evolution occurs when moments of the trait
distribution change
– usually focus on changes in the mean
Most models based on the “infinitesimal
model” (Fisher 1918)
– infinite # of loci, each with an infinitesimal effect on
the trait
– allele frequency changes at any single locus are
negligible, but sum of changes significant
– higher moments remain constant if selection is
weak
Trait variation
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Variation can be partitioned into additive
components
Phenotypic
variance
Genetic
variance
Environmental
variance
VP VG VE
Additive
Genetic
variance
Dominance
variance
Epistatic
variance
VP VA VD VI VE
Selection
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Statistical association between a trait and
fitness expressed as a covariance (Price
Phenotypic
1970)
value
s cov( z,w )
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This covariance gives the change in the trait
mean within a generation
s z - z
Evolution
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Within generational changes transformed into
cross generational changes
Degree to which changes within a generation
are maintained across generations is
determined by the heritability of traits
Heritability measures resemblance of parents
and offspring (measured as a covariance)
Resemblance is primarily due to additive
effects of genes
2cov(zP ,zO ) VA
Evolution
2cov(zP ,zO ) VA
h
VP(P)
VP(P)
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Change in trait mean
r zt 1 zt h s
2
Questions
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Evolution of multiple traits
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Testing validity of assumptions
– genetic relationship between traits
– non-independent evolution
– genetic constraints
– Approaches to examining genetic architecture of
these types of traits
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Violation of assumptions
– fewer genes of larger effect
– strong selection
Other approaches
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Models can be used as tools to define
dynamics of a system in computer-based
approaches
– define dynamics of Monte-Carlo simulation
– move through search space in a genetic algorithm
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similation
– define transition probabilities in an iterative model
Models can be made spatially explicit
– cellular automata
– individual based models
NIH short course
Modeling evolutionary genetics of complex traits
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Hierarchical approach
– genes RNA proteins developmental
modules phenotypes populations
metapopulations
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Focused on genotype –phenotype
relationship and its impacts on evolutionary
processes
Grant support available
Summer 2003 – Date TBA
Course on quantitative genetics
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NC State Summer Institute in Statistical
Genetics
– Quantitative Genetics
– Genomics
– Molecular Evolution
http://sun01pt2-1523.statgen.ncsu.edu/sisg/
Recommended texts
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Principles of Population Genetics – D. L. Hartl
and A. G. Clark – Sinauer
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An Introduction to Population Genetics
Theory – J. F. Crow and M. Kimura – Burgess
Publishing (Alpha Editions)
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Evolutionary Quantitative genetics – D. A.
Roff – Chapman and Hall
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Introduction to Quantitative Genetics – D. S.
Falconer and T. F. C. Mackay - Longman