Modeling the role of epigenetic inheritance in adaptation and phenotypic heritability
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Although genetic variation provides the basis upon which traits are inherited and respond to selection, non-genetic inheritance can also play a role in phenotypic heritability and adaptation. Epigenetic inheritance, the inheritance of changes in gene expression and function, has been shown to contribute to heritability in a range of model systems. This thesis presents population genetic models of epigenetic inheritance, characterizing the role of epigenetic inheritance in adaptation and heritability, how epigenetic variation may interact with the environment, and the ecological scenarios in which epigenetic inheritance may evolve. Chapter 2 outlines a model of epigenetic inheritance as a mutational process, and derives analytical properties of inheritance and the response to selection. Chapter 3 extends this model, incorporating environmental influences on epigenetic state to explore the interaction between epigenetics and the environment. Chapter 4 models the evolutionary invasion of novel epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, finding the regimes of selection and temporal environmental variation that may select for epigenetic regulation. Chapter 5 focuses on a specific type of epigenetic regulation, stochastic switching, to understand how spatial and temporal variation in selective pressures interact to influence the evolution of epimutation rates and the corresponding fidelity of phenotypic transmission. These chapters show that epigenetic inheritance can allow for rapid adaptation, though the specific details of selection through space and time will determine its relative importance in the adaptive process. Laboratory and field experiments in epigenetics must carefully incorporate spatial and temporal effects to accurately evaluate the role of epigenetic inheritance in evolution.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2014 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Furrow, Robert Emilio | |
|---|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Biology. | |
| Primary advisor | Feldman, Marcus W | |
| Thesis advisor | Feldman, Marcus W | |
| Thesis advisor | Fraser, Hunter B | |
| Thesis advisor | Petrov, Dmitri Alex, 1969- | |
| Thesis advisor | Tuljapurkar, Shripad, 1951- | |
| Advisor | Fraser, Hunter B | |
| Advisor | Petrov, Dmitri Alex, 1969- | |
| Advisor | Tuljapurkar, Shripad, 1951- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Robert Emilio Furrow. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Biology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2014. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2014 by Robert Emilio Furrow
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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