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Persistence of costly novel genes in the absence of positive selection
Author(s) -
ESCOBARPÁRAMO P.,
FAIVRE N.,
BUCKLING A.,
GOUGATBARBERA C.,
HOCHBERG M. E.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2008.01673.x
Subject(s) - biology , persistence (discontinuity) , lytic cycle , genetics , bacteriophage , pseudomonas fluorescens , selection (genetic algorithm) , gene , strain (injury) , mutation , horizontal gene transfer , mutation accumulation , competition (biology) , experimental evolution , evolutionary biology , genetic fitness , bacteria , mutation rate , genome , escherichia coli , ecology , virus , geotechnical engineering , anatomy , artificial intelligence , computer science , engineering
Many genetic changes that ultimately lead to adaptive evolution come with a short‐term cost expressed in terms of reduced survival and reproduction. In the absence of genetic drift, it is unclear how such costly mutations may persist. Here we experimentally demonstrate that parasites can promote the persistence of costly genetic variants. We employed a genetically engineered strain (GMMO) of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens as a model of the acquisition of a new gene either through a major mutation or through horizontal transfer, and examined its persistence in different evolving communities comprising an ancestral strain and a lytic bacteriophage. Whereas competition resulted in the elimination of the GMMO, inclusion of the phage promoted GMMO persistence. We provide evidence for why this effect is due to the differential susceptibility of GMMO and ancestral bacteria to phage.