RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Evolution of Genetic Bandwagoning
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 064493
DO 10.1101/064493
A1 Idan S. Solon
YR 2019
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/01/17/064493.abstract
AB Background In separate literatures, scholars have recently theorized that a variant can be selected to (1) induce suicide by moribund or otherwise stressed holders; (2) impose senescence upon a chronologically old holder; or (3) reduce the yield of a holder with low genetic heterozygosity. The unappreciated commonality between these theories is that a variant can be selected to reduce the fitness of a low-quality holder. Herein, it is proposed that a variant can be selected that reduces its holder’s fitness in response to not just these indications but also other indications of low genetic quality and a corresponding low outlook for lineage fitness. The fitness losses induced by the variant in low-quality individuals would allow fitness gains for nearby individuals, some of which would hold a copy of the variant. The variant would gain frequency by hitchhiking along with (“jumping on the bandwagon” of) higher-quality individuals (and their lineages) that have copies of the variant; therefore, it is called a “bandwagoning” variant.Questions What parameter values (e.g., relatedness, heritability of fitness, heritability of quality) allow natural selection of genetic bandwagoning? What forms of genetic bandwagoning can be selected?Features of the model The model is individual-based and designed to test a combination of two forms of bandwagoning: resonation and reservation. In resonation, a bandwagoning variant sequentially 1) evaluates its holder’s quality and lineage fitness outlook and 2) reduces its fitness if these evaluations are unfavorable. In reservation, a bandwagoning variant accomplishes these two steps simultaneously.Results Genetic bandwagoning that combines resonation and reservation can be selected even when values for relatedness, heritability of quality, and heritability of fitness are low enough to be in line with reported values for humans and other species.Conclusion Genetic bandwagoning can account for numerous empirical paradoxes that apparently involve 1) fitness losses incurred in response to indications of low quality or 2) fitness gains occurring in response to an increase in conditions severity. Evolutionary paradoxes discussed as potential examples of bandwagoning include depression, differential nurturing, honest signaling, reproductive suppression, stress-induced production of anthocyanins, hormesis, and overcompensation.