2025 Hyper Recent •CC0 1.0 Universal

This work is dedicated to the public domain. No rights reserved.

Access Preprint From Server
May 8th, 2025
Version: 2
The University of Queensland
evolutionary biology
biorxiv

Identification of multivariate phenotypes most influenced by mutation: Drosophila serrata wings as a case study

McGuigan, K.Open in Google Scholar•Conradsen, C.Open in Google Scholar

The distribution of pleiotropic mutational effects impacts phenotypic adaptation. However, small effect sizes and high sampling error of covariances hinder investigations of the factors influencing this distribution. Here, we explored the potential for shared information across traits affected by the same mutations to counter sampling error, allowing robust characterisation of patterns of mutational input. Exploiting a published dataset representing 12 samples of the same mutation accumulation experiment in Drosophila serrata, we inferred robust signals of mutational effects from the concordance across samples. Krzanowski common subspace analysis identified a multivariate wing trait with statistically supported mutational variance in all samples. Importantly, this multivariate trait was aligned with the major axis of among-line (mutational) variance within most population samples. That is, despite considerable heterogeneity among samples in individual (co)variance parameter estimates, the predominant pattern of correlated mutational effects was identified in datasets reflecting a typical mutation accumulation experimental design. Two other multivariate traits were statistically supported across most samples. Smaller effect sizes (lower mutational variance) with concomitant larger sampling error or other factors (e.g., microenvironmental dependence of effects) may reduce the robustness of estimated mutational input for these traits. Overall, our results suggest sampling error does not preclude multivariate analyses of mutation accumulation experiments from extending our knowledge of pleiotropic mutational effects.

Similar Papers

biorxiv
Fri May 09 2025
Resource distribution unifies optimal offspring size and bacterial aging
Models of optimal offspring size and bacterial aging share the same underlying mathematical problem: how should a parent optimally distribute limited resources among its offspring? Optimal offspring size theory has long explored the trade-off between offspring number and size in higher organisms. Meanwhile, the emerging field of bacterial aging examines whether and under what conditions cells evol...
Sakal, T.
•
Proulx, S. R.
biorxiv
Fri May 09 2025
Genetically diverse populations hold the keys to climatic adaptation: a lesson from a cosmopolitan raptor
Although local adaptation influences species distributions, its role in driving evolutionary resilience under climate change remains unclear. Current predictive models focus on genetic adaptation to present climates, providing limited insight into future adaptive capacity. We hypothesise that historical responses to climatic shifts can reveal future adaptive potential. Combining ecological niche m...
Corval, H.
•
Cumer, T.
•
Topaloudis, A.
•
Collart, F.
...•
Goudet, J.
biorxiv
Thu May 08 2025
Loss of Vertically-Inherited Totiviruses and Toxin-Encoding Satellites in Killer Yeast Evidences Intracellular Conflict in Natural Populations
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is occasionally infected by totiviruses and their toxin-encoding satellites. Totiviruses and their satellites coexist but with an asymmetric dependence on the totivirus for maintenance inside the host cell. Satellites provide their yeast hosts with inhibitory toxins and the necessary self-immunity; loss of the satellite equates to loss of immunity. Because mycoviruses lack...
Travers Cook, T.
•
Knight, S.
•
Lee, S.
•
Jucker, J.
...•
Buser, C.
biorxiv
Thu May 08 2025
Adaptive peak tracking as explanation of sparse fossil data across fluctuating ancient environments
Species that have existed over millions of years have done so because they have been able to track peaks in an adaptive landscape well enough to survive and reproduce. Such optima are defined by the mean phenotypic values that maximize mean fitness, and they are predominantly functions of the environment, for example the sea temperature. The mean phenotypic values over time will thus predominantly...
Ergon, R.
biorxiv
Thu May 08 2025
No evidence for disassortative mating based on HLA genotype in a natural fertility population
Evidence for disassortative mating based on the human-specific MHC, i.e. HLA, is equivocal1. Initial evidence for disassortative HLA-pairing in the European-descent Hutterites2 has tended not to replicate in other populations. Recent studies, rather, reflect assortative mating associated with cosmopolitan population structure1. Although their configuration is more relevant to the majority of human...
Meeks, G. L.
•
Scelza, B.
•
Kichula, K. M.
•
Berevoescu, C.
...•
Henn, B. M.
biorxiv
Thu May 08 2025
Performance evaluation of adaptive introgression classification methods
Introgression, the incorporation of foreign variants through hybridization and repeated backcross, is increasingly being studied for its potential evolutionary consequences, one of which is adaptive introgression (AI). In recent years, several statistical methods have been proposed for the detection of loci that have undergone adaptive introgression. Most of these methods have been tested and deve...
Romieu, J.
•
Camarata, G.
•
Crochet, P.-A.
•
de Navascues, M.
...•
Rousset, F.
biorxiv
Thu May 08 2025
Emergent epistasis mediates the role of negative frequency-dependent selection in bacterial strain structure
Strain structure is a well-documented phenomenon in many pathogenic and commensal bacterial species, where distinct strains persist over time exhibiting stable associations between genetic or phenotypic traits. This structure is surprising, particularly in highly recombinogenic species like Streptococcus pneumoniae} because recombination typically breaks down linkage disequilibrium, the non-random...
Guillemet, M.
•
Lehtinen, S.
biorxiv
Thu May 08 2025
Novel artificial selection method improves function of simulated microbial communities
There is increasing interest in artificially selecting or breeding microbial communities, but experiments have reported modest success. Here, we develop computational models to simulate two previously known selection methods and compare them to a new ``disassembly'' method. We evaluate all three methods in their ability to find a community that could efficiently degrade toxins, whereby investment ...
Vessman, B.
•
Guridi-Fernandez, P.
•
Arias-Sanchez, F. I.
•
Mitri, S.
biorxiv
Thu May 08 2025
Tracing the Spread of Celtic Languages using Ancient Genomics
Celtic languages, including Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Breton, are today restricted to the Northern European Atlantic seaboard. However, between three and two thousand years before present (BP), Celtic was widely spoken across most of Europe before being largely replaced by Germanic, Latin or Slavic1-4. Despite this rich history, how Celtic spread across the European continent remains conte...
McColl, H.
•
Kroonen, G.
•
Pinotti, T.
•
Barrie, W.
...•
Willerslev, E.