Volume 25, Issue 6 p. 533-537
What the papers say

Liberating genetic variance through sex

Andrew D. Peters

Andrew D. Peters

Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Canada

Search for more papers by this author
Sarah P. Otto

Corresponding Author

Sarah P. Otto

Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Canada

Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Canada.Search for more papers by this author
First published: 19 May 2003
Citations: 17

Abstract

Genetic variation in fitness is the fundamental prerequisite for adaptive evolutionary change. If there is no variation in survival and reproduction or if this variation has no genetic basis, then the composition of a population will not evolve over time. Consequently, the factors influencing genetic variation in fitness have received close attention from evolutionary biologists. One key factor is the mode of reproduction. Indeed, it has long been thought that sex enhances fitness variation and that this explains the ubiquity of sexual reproduction among eukaryotes. Nevertheless, theoretical studies have demonstrated that sex need not always increase genetic variation in fitness. In particular, if fitness interactions among beneficial alleles (epistasis) are positive, sex can reduce genetic variance in fitness. Empirical data have been sorely needed to settle the issue of whether sex does enhance fitness variation. A recent flurry of studies1-4 has demonstrated that sex and recombination do dramatically increase genetic variation in fitness and consequently the rate of adaptive evolution. Interpreted in light of evolutionary theory, these studies rule out positive in these experiments epistasis as a major source of genetic associations. Further studies are needed, however, to tease apart other possible sources. BioEssays 25:533–537, 2003. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.