Evolutionary rescue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Evolutionary rescue is a process by which a population—that would have gone extinct in the absence of evolution—persists due to natural selection acting on heritable variation.[1][2] The term was first used in 1995 by Richard Gomulkiewicz and Robert Holt [3] in the context of a sudden environmental change, but the process was studied long before in the context of continuous environmental change[4] and, especially, drug resistance evolution.[5]

Theoretical framework[]

After a sudden change in the environment, evolutionary rescue is predicted to create a U-shaped curve of population dynamics, as the original genotypes, which are unable to replace themselves, are replaced by genotypes that are able to increase in numbers.[3] In a continuously changing environment, evolutionary rescue is predicted to appear as a stable lag of the mean trait value behind a moving environmental optimum, where the rate of evolution and rate of change in the environment are equal.[6] The theory has been reviewed by Alexander in 2014 [7] and continues to grow rapidly, adding both genetic and ecological complexity.

a theoretical depiction of evolutionary rescue.
Evolutionary rescue is expected to produce a U-shaped curve of population dynamics after a sudden change in the environment, as genotypes that are unable replace themselves are replaced by those that can. Figure from [8]

Evolutionary rescue is distinct from demographic rescue, where a population is sustained by continuous migration from elsewhere, without the need for evolution.[9] On the other hand, genetic rescue, where a population persists because of migration that reduces inbreeding depression, can be thought of a special case of evolutionary rescue (but see [8]).

Empirical evidence[]

Evolutionary rescue has been demonstrated in many different experimental evolution studies,[1] such as yeast evolving to tolerate previously lethal salt concentrations.[10] There are also a large number of examples of evolutionary rescue in the wild,[1] in the forms of drug resistance, herbicide resistance,[11] other types of pesticide resistance, and genetic rescue.

When studying herbicide resistance evolution, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) may be used, however there are particular pitfalls: Because self-fertilization is common in plants, linkage disequilibrium is more of a problem than in other GWAS applications. Although that makes it easier to detect whether resistance-relevant genetics is present, it makes the exact loci harder to determine. It also increases the rate of false negatives due to small n. On the other hand the false positive rate is increased when using or with a high degree of population structure.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Bell, G (2017). "Evolutionary rescue". Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 48 (1): 201–207. doi:10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110316-023011.
  2. ^ Gonzalez, Andrew (2012). "Evolutionary rescue; an emerging focus at the intersection between ecology and evolution". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
  3. ^ a b Gomulkiewicz, R; Holt, R (1995). "When does natural selection save a population from extinction?". Evolution. 49 (1): 201–207. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1995.tb05971.x. PMID 28593677. S2CID 29819056.
  4. ^ Pease, C; Lande, R; Bull, J (1989). "A Model of Population Growth, Dispersal and Evolution in a Changing Environment". Ecology. 70 (6): 1657–1664. doi:10.2307/1938100.
  5. ^ Levy, S; Marshall, B (2004). "Antibacterial resistance worldwide: causes, challenges and responses". Nature Medicine. 10: S122–S129. doi:10.1038/nm1145.
  6. ^ Burger, B; Lynch, M (1995). "Evolution and extinction in a changing environment: a quantitative-genetic analysis". Evolution. 49: 151–163. doi:10.2307/2410301.
  7. ^ Alexander, H; Martin, G; Martin, O; Bonhoeffer, S (2014). "Evolutionary rescue: linking theory for conservation and medicine". Evolutionary Applications. 7: 1161–1179. doi:10.1111/eva.12221. PMC 4275089.
  8. ^ a b Carlson, S; Cunningham, C; Westley, P (2014). "Evolutionary rescue in a changing world". 29: 521–530. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2014.06.005. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ Brown, J; Kodric-Brown, A (1977). "Turnover rates in insular biogeography: effect of immigration on extinction". Ecology. 58: 445–449. doi:10.2307/1935620.
  10. ^ Bell, G; Gonzalez, A (2009). "Evolutionary rescue can prevent extinction following environmental change". Ecology Letters. 12: 942–948. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01350.x.
  11. ^ a b Kreiner, Julia M.; Stinchcombe, John R.; Wright, Stephen I. (2018-04-29). "Population Genomics of Herbicide Resistance: Adaptation via Evolutionary Rescue". Annual Review of Plant Biology. Annual Reviews. 69 (1): 611–635. doi:10.1146/annurev-arplant-042817-040038. ISSN 1543-5008. S2CID 25489201.
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