Interference among deleterious mutations favours sex and recombination in finite populations

Peter D. Keightley () and Sarah P. Otto
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Peter D. Keightley: University of Edinburgh
Sarah P. Otto: University of British Columbia

Nature, 2006, vol. 443, issue 7107, 89-92

Abstract: The question of sex For decades scientists have been seeking to understand the evolutionary forces behind the emergence of sex and recombination. The need to purge deleterious mutations from the genome is one possible driving force. For this idea to be valid, deleterious mutations would probably need to exhibit negative epistasis — that is, they would act synergistically to produce a large cumulative effect. However, experimental evidence suggests that such negative epistasis is uncommon. Now, by invoking a concept called Hill–Robertson interference, Peter Keightley and Sarah Otto have developed a computer simulation that selects for recombination regardless of whether deleterious mutations exhibit epistasis. This provides a robust explanation for the evolution of recombination, and perhaps of sex.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05049

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