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Low Genetic Quality Alters Key Dimensions of the Mutational Spectrum.

ABSTRACT: Mutations affect individual health, population persistence, adaptation, diversification, and genome evolution. There is evidence that the mutation rate varies among genotypes, but the causes of this variation are poorly understood. Here, we link differences in genetic quality with variation in spontaneous mutation in a Drosophila mutation accumulation experiment. We find that chromosomes maintained in low-quality genetic backgrounds experience a higher rate of indel mutation and a lower rate of gene conversion in a manner consistent with condition-based differences in the mechanisms used to repair DNA double strand breaks. These aspects of the mutational spectrum were also associated with body mass, suggesting that the effect of genetic quality on DNA repair was mediated by overall condition, and providing a mechanistic explanation for the differences in mutational fitness decline among these genotypes. The rate and spectrum of substitutions was unaffected by genetic quality, but we find variation in the probability of substitutions and indels with respect to several aspects of local sequence context, particularly GC content, with implications for models of molecular evolution and genome scans for signs of selection. Our finding that the chances of mutation depend on genetic context and overall condition has important implications for how sequences evolve, the risk of extinction, and human health.

SUBMITTER: Sharp NP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4807879 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Low Genetic Quality Alters Key Dimensions of the Mutational Spectrum.

Sharp Nathaniel P NP Agrawal Aneil F AF

PLoS biology 20160325 3

Mutations affect individual health, population persistence, adaptation, diversification, and genome evolution. There is evidence that the mutation rate varies among genotypes, but the causes of this variation are poorly understood. Here, we link differences in genetic quality with variation in spontaneous mutation in a Drosophila mutation accumulation experiment. We find that chromosomes maintained in low-quality genetic backgrounds experience a higher rate of indel mutation and a lower rate of ...[more]

PMID: 27015430

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Project description:Mutualisms can play important roles in influencing species coexistence and determining community composition. However, few studies have tested whether such interactions can affect species distributions by altering the niches of partner species. In subalpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains, USA, we explored whether the presence of a fungal endophyte (genus Epichloë) may shift the niche of its partner plant, marsh bluegrass (Poa leptocoma) relative to a closely related but endophyte-free grass species, nodding bluegrass (Poa reflexa). Using observations and a 3-year field experiment, we tested two questions: (i) Do P. leptocoma and P. reflexa occupy different ecological niches? and (ii) Does endophyte presence affect the relative fitness of P. leptocoma versus P. reflexa in the putative niches of these grass species? The two species were less likely to co-occur than expected by chance. Specifically, P. leptocoma grew closer to water sources and in wetter soils than P. reflexa, and also had higher root colonization by mycorrhizal fungi. Endophyte-symbiotic P. leptocoma seeds germinated with greater frequency in P. leptocoma niches relative to P. reflexa niches, whereas neither endophyte-free (experimentally removed) P. leptocoma seeds nor P. reflexa seeds showed differential germination between the two niche types. Thus, endophyte presence constrained the germination and early survival of host plants to microsites occupied by P. leptocoma. However, endophyte-symbiotic P. leptocoma ultimately showed greater growth than endophyte-free plants across all microsites, indicating a net benefit of the symbiosis at this life history stage. Differential effects of endophyte symbiosis on different host life history stages may thus contribute to niche partitioning between the two congeneric plant species. Our study therefore identifies a symbiotic relationship as a potential mechanism facilitating the coexistence of two species, suggesting that symbiont effects on host niche may have community-level consequences.

Dataset Information

Low Genetic Quality Alters Key Dimensions of the Mutational Spectrum.

Publications

Low Genetic Quality Alters Key Dimensions of the Mutational Spectrum.

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