Nonadaptive Amino Acid Convergence Rates Decrease over Time.

ABSTRACT: Convergence is a central concept in evolutionary studies because it provides strong evidence for adaptation. It also provides information about the nature of the fitness landscape and the repeatability of evolution, and can mislead phylogenetic inference. To understand the role of adaptive convergence, we need to understand the patterns of nonadaptive convergence. Here, we consider the relationship between nonadaptive convergence and divergence in mitochondrial and model proteins. Surprisingly, nonadaptive convergence is much more common than expected in closely related organisms, falling off as organisms diverge. The extent of the convergent drop-off in mitochondrial proteins is well predicted by epistatic or coevolutionary effects in our "evolutionary Stokes shift" models and poorly pred

SUBMITTER: Goldstein RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4572784 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature