The population genomics of adaptive loss of function

The population genomics of adaptive loss of function

Discoveries of adaptive gene knockouts and widespread losses of complete genes have in recent years led to a major rethink of the early view that loss-of-function alleles are almost always deleterious. Today, surveys of population genomic diversity are revealing extensive loss-of-function and gene content variation, yet the adaptive significance of much of this variation remains unknown. Here we examine the evolutionary dynamics of adaptive loss…

The genomic basis of adaptation in plants

Plants are powerful models for the study of adaptive evolution. Since they are rooted in place, they must directly face environmental insults, making …

Understanding the material foundations of adaptive evolution is a central goal of biology that dates back at least to Darwin's time. One focus of current debates is the question of whether adaptive evolution results in many mutations with small and approximately equal effects...