Directional selection in the context of "Recurrent evolution"

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⭐ Core Definition: Directional selection

In population genetics, directional selection is a mode of natural selection in which individuals with a trait (for example, beak size) at one extreme of a phenotypic distribution have better fitness than individuals with intermediate or opposite extreme phenotypes. Over time, the allele frequencies, and consequently the population mean for the trait, shift consistently in the direction of the extreme phenotype with greater fitness. An example is the evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria – the introduction of a strong selective pressure (the antibiotic) selects resistant strains of bacteria, thereby shifting allele frequencies toward phenotypes with strong resistance to the antibiotic.

This type of selection plays an important role in the emergence of complex and diversifying traits and is also a primary force in speciation. Natural phenomena that might promote strong directional selection include:

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👉 Directional selection in the context of Recurrent evolution

Recurrent evolution also referred to as repeated or replicated evolution is the repeated evolution of a particular trait, character, or mutation. Most evolution is the result of drift, often interpreted as the random chance of some alleles being passed down to the next generation and others not. Recurrent evolution is said to occur when patterns emerge from this stochastic process when looking across multiple distinct populations. These patterns are of particular interest to evolutionary biologists, as they can demonstrate the underlying forces governing evolution.

Recurrent evolution is a broad term, but it is usually used to describe recurring regimes of selection within or across lineages. While most commonly used to describe recurring patterns of selection, it can also be used to describe recurring patterns of mutation; for example, transitions are more common than transversions. The concept encompasses both convergent evolution and parallel evolution; it can be used to describe the observation of similar repeating changes through directional selection as well as the observation of highly conserved phenotypes or genotypes across lineages through continuous purifying selection over large periods of evolutionary time.

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Directional selection in the context of Vestigiality

Vestigiality is the retention, during the process of evolution, of genetically determined structures or attributes that have lost some or all of the ancestral function in a given species. Assessment of the vestigiality must generally rely on comparison with homologous features in related species. The emergence of vestigiality occurs by normal evolutionary processes, typically by loss of function of a feature that is no longer subject to positive selection pressures when it loses its value in a changing environment. The feature may be selected against more urgently when its function becomes definitively harmful, but if the lack of the feature provides no advantage, and its presence provides no disadvantage, the feature may not be phased out by natural selection and persist across species.

Examples of vestigial structures (also called degenerate, atrophied, or rudimentary organs) are the loss of functional wings in island-dwelling birds; the human vomeronasal organ; and the hindlimbs of the snake and whale.

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Directional selection in the context of Host–parasite coevolution

Host–parasite coevolution is a special case of coevolution, where a host and a parasite continually adapt to each other. This can create an evolutionary arms race between them. A more benign possibility is of an evolutionary trade-off between transmission and virulence in the parasite, as if it kills its host too quickly, the parasite will not be able to reproduce either. Another theory, the Red Queen hypothesis, proposes that since both host and parasite have to keep on evolving to keep up with each other, and since sexual reproduction continually creates new combinations of genes, parasitism favours sexual reproduction in the host.

The genetic changes involved are changes in frequencies of alleles, variant forms of individual genes, within populations. These are determined by three main types of selection dynamics: negative frequency-dependent selection when a rare allele has a selective advantage; heterozygote advantage; and directional selection near an advantageous allele. A possible result is a geographic mosaic in a parasitised population, as both host and parasite adapt to environmental conditions that vary in space and time.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Recurrent evolution ← Vestigiality ← Vestigial ← Host–parasite coevolution
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Population genetics → Natural selection → Phenotype → Fitness (biology) → Allele → Speciation →