Lec 14: Selection and Other Evolutionary Mechanisms

Selection is a powerful evolutionary mechanism, and represents the only way that populations become
better adapted to their environment. But it is not the only evolutionary force. This class explores other
mechanisms that take populations out of genetic equilibrium and may cause them to evolve.

Independent study outcomes

1. Examples of directional, stabilizing and disruptive selection (they fuck with HWE)
Directional Selection: Traits undergo directional selection when
individuals near one end of the phenotypic spectrum have the highest
relative fitness. Directional selection shits a trait away from the
existing mean and toward the favorite extreme.
This selection is extremely common
Predatory fish feeds on smallest guppies in a group, promotes
directional selection for larger body size
Aimed at increasing or decreasing specific phenotypic traits.
(Artificial selection.) (DAT RANDOM shit we do to
experimental animals.)
We use this directional selection to grow farm animals and crops

Stabilizing Selection: Traits undergo stabilizing selection when individuals expressing

intermediate phenotypes have the highest relative fitness. By eliminating phenotypic extremes
stabilizing selection reduces genetic and phenotypic variation and increases the frequency of the
intermediate phenotypes.
The most common mode of natural selection (key word, natural)
Opposing forces of directional selection can sometimes produce overall pattern of stabilizing
selection (Just like you squeeze a balloon from both sides, it expands now in a vertical shape,
just picture a balloon even if it scares the shit of me.)
Galls (Weird shit when fly larva hatches from egg, bores into a goldenrod stem, and the plant
respond by producing a spherical growth deformity called a gall.) vary dramatically in size;
genetic experiments indicate that gall size is a heritable trait of the fly, although plant
genotype also has an effect.
Those fly larvae inside galls are subjected to two opposing patterns of directional section (so
it is stabilizing) Wasps cant crack open big gall shells, so they mostly kill small galls. Birds
enjoy killing big galls. (Wow, being a bug inside a gall must suck balls.)
Thus intermediate galls have a higher survival rate, stabilizing selection.

Disruptive Selection: Traits undergo disruptive selection when extreme phenotypes have
higher relative fitness than intermediate phenotypes. Thus, alleles producing extreme phenotypes
become more common, promoting polymorphism.
Much less common than directional or stabilizing selection
Once upon a time, there were some birds (cactus finches on the island of Genovesa)
During normal weather cycles, they feed on ripe cactus fruits, seeds and exposed insects.
 During drought years, they search insects by stripping barks from branches.
HOWEVER a long drought killed 70% of them including your best friend Ms. Twinkles.
Through devastation you examined the rest of the species and find out that the survivors
have distinct bills (either long ones for cactus fruits, or deep ones for pecking barks)
Bye Bye, Ms. Twinkles and your otherwise most selection favorable intermediate beak.

2. How inbreeding and nonrandom mating affect allele frequencies, and how
they affect genotype frequencies
Nonrandom mating: (many organisms mate non-randomly, selecting a mate with a particular
phenotype and underlying genotype.) (it fucks with HWE)
Since individuals with similar genetically based phenotypes mate with each other, the next
generation will contain fewer heterozygous offspring than the HW model predicts.
White geese mate with white geese, blue ones mate with blue ones.
THEY DO NOT AFFECT ALLELE FREQUENCIES
Inbreeding: (the Lannisters shenanigans) Increase homozygous genotypes, and decrease the
heterozygous genotypes.
(Thus, recessive phenotypes are often expressed. Inbreeding is not the cause of disorder. But
the fact that the offspring is homozygous can express the disorder.
Take a look at the Lannisters, Cersi and Jamie are twins that most likely have the same
alleles. Assume they are both heterozygous for a crazy dickface gene, and that is not
expressed 100% in both of them. And then, they start to boning each other and gave birth to
Joffrey, who is 100% dickface.
The fact that they are inbreeding is not the cause for Joffreys dickface-ness, however, the
fact that he is homozygous for the gene expression for dickface-ness is the root of all evil.
THEY DO NOT AFFECT ALLELE FREQUENCIES

3. How gene flow and genetic drift affect genetic variation within a population,
and genetic differences between populations
Gene flow: When the immigrants individual reproduce then it introduce novel alleles in a
population they joined. This phenomenon is called gene flow. (It fucks with HWE)
A small gene flow may increase the genetic variability within the population that receives
immigrants. And make the two populations similar. (If the two popular are already similar,
the effect will be teeny-tiny.)
Genetic drift: Chance events sometimes cause allele frequencies in a population to change
unpredictably. (It clearly fucks with HWE)
It has dramatic effect on small populations. Only a few individuals contribute to the gene
pool. Any given allele is present in very few individuals
Genetic drift generally leads to the loss of alleles and reduced genetic variabilities.
For example: founder effect & population bottlenecks,

4. Examples of founder effects and population bottlenecks

Founder effects: A few individuals colonize a distant locality and start a new population; they
carry only a small sample of the parent populations genetic variation, which results in complete
loss of some alleles in a population. The ones that are left have high frequencies.
 In Charlevoix, Quebec, there is unusually high incidence of myotonic dystrophy.
That is muscle weekness and wasting, arises in early adulthood.
The allele frequency for this in other parts of the world is 1/5000~1/50000.
HOWEVER, In this region, it is 1/550
WHY? Cuz this allele was brought into the region 9 generations ago when Europeans come
and settled there in the seventeenth century. (Dear Europeans, please stop boning your close
relatives who share the similar alleles for the sake of humanity and our beloved Quebec
cousins.)

Population bottlenecks: Occasionally a stressful factor such as disease, starvation, or drought

kills many individuals and eliminates some alleles from a population, producing a population
bottleneck. This cause of genetic drift greatly reduces genetic variation even if the population
numbers later rebound.
Once upon a time, hunters ruthlessly wiped out the elephant seals in North America.
All thats left was 20 of them including your two best friends Hunter and Huntress. (DAT
IRONY)
Then since we gave them a protected status, the population now increased to more than
30000.
Now we took some random elephant seals into a lab and ran some gel electrophoresis based
on their tissue. And find out that there is no variation in 24 proteins.
This low level of genetic variation is consistent with the hypothesis that genetic drift
eliminated many alleles when the population experienced the bottleneck.

Lecture outcomes

How heterozygote advantage and heterozygote disadvantage affect genetic

variation
Heterozygote advantage: heterozygote genotype has a higher relative fitness than either the
homozygote dominant or homozygote recessive genotype
The allele frequency of both Dominant and Recessive allele change to reach a set ratio.
(selection happens throughout this process)
Maintain high levels of genetic variation. (Maintain multiple alleles at a locus.)

Heterozygote disadvantage: heterozygote genotype has a lower relative fitness than either the
homozygote dominant or homozygote recessive genotype
The allele frequency of will stabilize at 1:1 ratio if selection favor both homozygous
genotypes and not the heterozygote disadvantage.
Opposite of heterozygote advantage .removes genetic variation from the population.
(It's a good day to be different.)

Whether selection always results in evolution

Selection doesnt always results in evolution. It is possible for it to be subject to selection not
causing evolution.
Evolution only occurred at first and then stopped when the allele frequencies reached their
 equilibrium frequencies. So, selection can result in evolution, but does not necessarily result in
evolution. (After the frequency went to a set rate, evolution stops, while selection still needed to
maintain the equilibrium of frequency)

How positive and negative frequency-dependent selection affect genetic variation

Frequency-dependent selection: the relative fitness of a genotype depends on the abundance of
this genotype (expressed in the form of phenotype)
Positive frequency-dependent selection: the advantage of blending in. The most common
phenotype provides the highest fitness.
This is quite rare to find examples.
Predators learn to recognize prey warning coloration, (poison frogs), so then they would
avoid that phenotype (color of frogs) and kill only the ones that's different.
If birds ate poisonous frogs that's mostly red, they would avoid them cuz theyd have a
sickly tummy, and then the rebellious Green frogs in the family gets eaten. (WTFFFF)
Tends to reduce genetic variation. (Its the one that's different get left out in the cold and DIE)
Hence why its rare to see examples.
(Its a shitty day to be different.)

Negative frequency dependent selection: the advantage of being rare. The more frequent a
genotype is, the lower its fitness is.
Being attacked by the predators less often because they are just too darn hard to find.
Gives a selection pressure to the most common phenotype, and eventually makes the less
common phenotype from before the new most common phenotype, and then the predators
change their diet, and now feed on them. (It is messed up, I know. We need to think about the
rights of the prey. Lets have a silent protest.)
(It's a good day to be different.)