The evolution of genetic and epigenetic diversity in changing environments
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The production and maintenance of genetic and phenotypic diversity under temporally fluctuating selection has been a major focus of study in population genetics for more than five decades. In this thesis, I use analytical and computational models to gain insight into the relative roles of genetic and epigenetic diversity in adaptation to changing selection. The different chapters provide complimentary perspectives on the signatures of environmental volatility in the patterns of variation. Chapter 2 explores the evolution of epigenetic variation and its role in adaptation under changing selection pressures. Chapter 3 investigates the effect of recombination on the geometric mean principle under different environmental regimens and fitness landscapes. Two chapters of this thesis, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 explore the evolution of phenotypic switching, a phenomenon widely documented in viruses, yeast and bacteria, where offspring can express a phenotype different from those of their parents. These chapters highlight the interplay of spatial and temporal environmental variability, offering new insights into how migration can influence the evolution of stochastic switching rates, epigenetic inheritance, and sources of phenotypic variation. Chapter 6 compares and contrasts how fluctuating selection shapes the rates of recombination, mutation and migration, highlighting surprising similarities in their evolutionary dynamics to changing selection. This chapter offers new insights into the role of the environmental duration, shape and randomness in predicting the long-term evolutionary advantage of the forces of recombination, mutation and migration. The models and analyses presented here provide a more complete understanding of the role of genetic and epigenetic diversity in adaptation to changing selection pressures.
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 | Carja, Oana |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Biology. |
| Primary advisor | Feldman, Marcus W |
| Thesis advisor | Feldman, Marcus W |
| Thesis advisor | Fisher, Daniel C |
| Thesis advisor | Tuljapurkar, Shripad, 1951- |
| Advisor | Fisher, Daniel C |
| Advisor | Tuljapurkar, Shripad, 1951- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Oana Carja. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Biology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2014. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2014 by Oana Carja
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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