Do chromosome rearrangements fix by genetic drift or natural selection? Insights from Brenthis butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Large-scale chromosome rearrangements, such as fissions and fusions, are a common feature of eukaryote evolution. They can have considerable influence on the evolution of populations, yet it remains unclear exactly how rearrangements become established and eventually fix. Rearrangements could fix by genetic drift if they are weakly deleterious or neutral, or they may instead be favoured by positive natural selection. Here, we compare genome assemblies of three closely related Brenthis butterfly species and characterize a complex history of fission and fusion rearrangements. An inferred demographic history of these species suggests that rearrangements became fixed in populations with large long-term effective size (N _e), consistent with rearrangements being selectively neutral or

SUBMITTER: Mackintosh A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11628658 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature