Conditional expression explains molecular evolution of social genes in a microbe

Janaina Lima Oliveira, Atahualpa Castillo Morales, Balint Stewart, Nicole Gruenheit, Jennifer Engelmoer, Suzanne Battom Brown, Reinaldo A. Brito, Laurence D. Hurst, Araxi O. Urrutia, Christopher R. L. Thompson () and Jason B. Wolf ()
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Janaina Lima Oliveira: University of Bath, Claverton Down
Atahualpa Castillo Morales: University of Bath, Claverton Down
Balint Stewart: University College London
Nicole Gruenheit: University College London
Jennifer Engelmoer: University of Manchester
Suzanne Battom Brown: University of Manchester
Reinaldo A. Brito: Universidade Federal de São Carlos
Laurence D. Hurst: University of Bath, Claverton Down
Araxi O. Urrutia: University of Bath, Claverton Down
Christopher R. L. Thompson: University College London
Jason B. Wolf: University of Bath, Claverton Down

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Conflict is thought to play a critical role in the evolution of social interactions by promoting diversity or driving accelerated evolution. However, despite our sophisticated understanding of how conflict shapes social traits, we have limited knowledge of how it impacts molecular evolution across the underlying social genes. Here we address this problem by analyzing the genome-wide impact of social interactions using genome sequences from 67 Dictyostelium discoideum strains. We find that social genes tend to exhibit enhanced polymorphism and accelerated evolution. However, these patterns are not consistent with conflict driven processes, but instead reflect relaxed purifying selection. This pattern is most likely explained by the conditional nature of social interactions, whereby selection on genes expressed only in social interactions is diluted by generations of inactivity. This dilution of selection by inactivity enhances the role of drift, leading to increased polymorphism and accelerated evolution, which we call the Red King process.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11237-2

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