Rapid Divergence of Genetic Variance‐Covariance Matrix within a Natural Population

2008 ◽  
Vol 171 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Doroszuk ◽  
Marcin W. Wojewodzic ◽  
Gerrit Gort ◽  
Jan E. Kammenga
Keyword(s):  
Covariance Matrix ◽  
Natural Population ◽  
Genetic Variance ◽  
Rapid Divergence ◽  
Variance Covariance Matrix

scholarly journals Evolution of the additive genetic variance–covariance matrix under continuous directional selection on a complex behavioural phenotype

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1819) ◽  
pp. 20151119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Careau ◽  
Matthew E. Wolak ◽  
Patrick A. Carter ◽  
Theodore Garland
Keyword(s):  
Covariance Matrix ◽  
Adaptive Response ◽  
Genetic Variance ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Wheel Running ◽  
Additive Genetic Variance ◽  
Phenotypic Selection ◽  
Directional Selection ◽  
Genetic Covariance ◽  
Variance Covariance Matrix

Given the pace at which human-induced environmental changes occur, a pressing challenge is to determine the speed with which selection can drive evolutionary change. A key determinant of adaptive response to multivariate phenotypic selection is the additive genetic variance–covariance matrix ( G ). Yet knowledge of G in a population experiencing new or altered selection is not sufficient to predict selection response because G itself evolves in ways that are poorly understood. We experimentally evaluated changes in G when closely related behavioural traits experience continuous directional selection. We applied the genetic covariance tensor approach to a large dataset ( n = 17 328 individuals) from a replicated, 31-generation artificial selection experiment that bred mice for voluntary wheel running on days 5 and 6 of a 6-day test. Selection on this subset of G induced proportional changes across the matrix for all 6 days of running behaviour within the first four generations. The changes in G induced by selection resulted in a fourfold slower-than-predicted rate of response to selection. Thus, selection exacerbated constraints within G and limited future adaptive response, a phenomenon that could have profound consequences for populations facing rapid environmental change.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document