Pleiotropic scaling of gene effects and the ‘cost of complexity’

Günter P. Wagner (), Jane P. Kenney-Hunt, Mihaela Pavlicev, Joel R. Peck, David Waxman and James M. Cheverud ()
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Günter P. Wagner: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8106, USA
Jane P. Kenney-Hunt: Washington University, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
Mihaela Pavlicev: Washington University, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
Joel R. Peck: Center for the Study of Evolution, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex
David Waxman: Center for the Study of Evolution, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex
James M. Cheverud: Washington University, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA

Nature, 2008, vol. 452, issue 7186, 470-472

Abstract: Complexity no handicap As more genetic sequence data are generated, evolutionary biology questions about inheritance and phenotypes can be subjected to sophisticated analyses. Wagner et al. address a fundamental problem in evolutionary biology, the relationship between organismal complexity and the ability to evolve, by measuring the effects of pleiotropy, or multiple effects from one genetic mutation, on the skeletal characteristics of mice. Data on 102 quantitative trait loci affecting 70 skeletal traits across the mouse genome suggest that there is no 'cost of complexity' for higher organisms, because most mutations affect few traits and the size of the effects does not increase with complexity.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06756

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