Polygenic adaptation after a sudden change in environment
Abstract
Polygenic adaptation is thought to be ubiquitous, yet remains poorly understood. Here, we model this process analytically, in the plausible setting of a highly polygenic, quantitative trait that experiences a sudden shift in the fitness optimum. We show how the mean phenotype changes over time, depending on the effect sizes of loci that contribute to variance in the trait, and characterize the allele dynamics at these loci. Notably, we describe the two phases of the allele dynamics: The first is a rapid phase, in which directional selection introduces small frequency differences between alleles whose effects are aligned with or opposed to the shift, ultimately leading to small differences in their probability of fixation during a second, longer phase, governed by stabilizing selection. As we discuss, key results should hold in more general settings, and have important implications for efforts to identify the genetic basis of adaptation in humans and other species.
Data availability
No new data was collected for this study. Data for this study were generated by computer simulations run by the authors. These simulations output summaries of several quantities of interest, as well as the standard error of these quantities. Source data files with the results of these simulations have been provided for Figs. 2B-C, 4, 5, 7A and 8.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Institutes of Health (GM115889)
- Guy Sella
National Institutes of Health (GM115889)
- Laura Katharine Hayward
National Institutes of Health (GM121372)
- Laura Katharine Hayward
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2022, Hayward & Sella
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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