Selection against accumulating mutations in niche-preference genes can drive speciation.

ABSTRACT: Our current understanding of sympatric speciation is that it occurs primarily through disruptive selection on ecological genes driven by competition, followed by reproductive isolation through reinforcement-like selection against inferior intermediates/heterozygotes. Our evolutionary model of selection on resource recognition and preference traits suggests a new mechanism for sympatric speciation. We find speciation can occur in three phases. First a polymorphism of functionally different phenotypes is established through evolution of specialization. On the gene level, regulatory functions have evolved in which some alleles are conditionally switched off (i.e. are silent). These alleles accumulate harmful mutations that potentially may be expressed in offspring through recombination. Secon

SUBMITTER: Norrstrom N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3246506 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature