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Competition-driven evolution of organismal complexity.

ABSTRACT: Non-uniform rates of morphological evolution and evolutionary increases in organismal complexity, captured in metaphors like "adaptive zones", "punctuated equilibrium" and "blunderbuss patterns", require more elaborate explanations than a simple gradual accumulation of mutations. Here we argue that non-uniform evolutionary increases in phenotypic complexity can be caused by a threshold-like response to growing ecological pressures resulting from evolutionary diversification at a given level of complexity. Acquisition of a new phenotypic feature allows an evolving species to escape this pressure but can typically be expected to carry significant physiological costs. Therefore, the ecological pressure should exceed a certain level to make such an acquisition evolutionarily successful. We present a detailed quantitative description of this process using a microevolutionary competition model as an example. The model exhibits sequential increases in phenotypic complexity driven by diversification at existing levels of complexity and a resulting increase in competitive pressure, which can push an evolving species over the barrier of physiological costs of new phenotypic features.

SUBMITTER: Ispolatov I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6793884 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Competition-driven evolution of organismal complexity.

Ispolatov Iaroslav I Alekseeva Evgeniia E Doebeli Michael M

PLoS computational biology 20191003 10

Non-uniform rates of morphological evolution and evolutionary increases in organismal complexity, captured in metaphors like "adaptive zones", "punctuated equilibrium" and "blunderbuss patterns", require more elaborate explanations than a simple gradual accumulation of mutations. Here we argue that non-uniform evolutionary increases in phenotypic complexity can be caused by a threshold-like response to growing ecological pressures resulting from evolutionary diversification at a given level of c ...[more]

PMID: 31581239

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Project description:BackgroundOrganismal complexity is suggested to increase with the complexity of transcriptional and translational regulations. Supporting this notion is a recent study that demonstrated a higher level of tissue-specific gene expression in human than in mouse. However, whether this correlation can be extended beyond mammals remains unclear. In addition, 5' untranslated regions (5'UTRs), which have undergone stochastic elongation during evolution and potentially included an increased number of regulatory elements, may have played an important role in the emergence of organismal complexity. Although the lack of correlation between 5'UTR length and organismal complexity has been proposed, the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored.ResultsIn this study, we select the number of cell types as the measurement of organismal complexity and examine the correlation between (1) organismal complexity and transcriptional regulatory complexity; and (2) organismal complexity and 5'UTR length by comparing the 5'UTRs and multiple-tissue expression profiles of human (Homo sapiens), mouse (Mus musculus), and fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). The transcriptional regulatory complexity is measured by using the tissue specificity of gene expression and the ratio of non-constitutively expressed to constitutively expressed genes. We demonstrate that, whereas correlation (1) holds well in the three-way comparison, correlation (2) is not true. Results from a larger dataset that includes more than 15 species, ranging from yeast to human, also reject correlation (2). The reason for the failure of correlation (2) may be ascribed to: Firstly, longer 5'UTRs do not contribute to increased tissue specificity of gene expression. Secondly, the increased numbers of common translational regulatory elements in longer 5'UTRs do not lead to increased organismal complexity.ConclusionsOur study has extended the evidence base for the correlation between organismal complexity and transcriptional regulatory complexity from mammals to fruit fly, the representative model organism of invertebrates. Furthermore, our results suggest that the elongation of 5'UTRs alone can not lead to the increase in regulatory complexity or the emergence of organismal complexity.

Dataset Information

Competition-driven evolution of organismal complexity.

Publications

Competition-driven evolution of organismal complexity.

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