Abstract
AbstractSince the modern synthesis, the fitness effects of mutations and epistasis have been central yet provocative concepts in evolutionary and population genetics. Studies of how the interactions between parcels of genetic information can change as a function of environmental context have added a layer of complexity to these discussions. Here I introduce the “mutation effect reaction norm” (Mu-RN), a new instrument through which one can analyze the phenotypic consequences of mutations and interactions across environmental contexts. It embodies the fusion of measurements of genetic interactions with the reaction norm, a classic depiction of the performance of genotypes across environments. I demonstrate the utility of the Mu-RN through the signature of a “compensatory ratchet” mutation that undermines reverse evolution of antimicrobial resistance. More broadly, I argue that the mutation effect reaction norm may help us resolve the dynamism and unpredictability of evolution, with implications for theoretical biology, genetic modification technology, and public health.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Reference73 articles.
1. The infinitesimal model: Definition, derivation, and implications
2. An Expanded View of Complex Traits: From Polygenic to Omnigenic
3. Sewall wright’s criticism of the gene’seye view of evolution;Evolution,2021
4. William B Provine . Sewall Wright and evolutionary biology. University of Chicago Press, 1989.
5. Sewall wright: gene interaction and the shifting balance theory;Oxford surveys in evolutionary biology,1992