Journal Article

Understanding The Evolution And Stability Of The G-Matrix

Ajie, Beverley C., Jones, Adam G., Arnold, Stevan J., Bürger, Reinhard, Hohenlohe, Paul A.

2008

Overview

The G-matrix summarizes the inheritance of multiple, phenotypic traits. The stability and evolution of this matrix are important issues because they affect our ability to predict how the phenotypic traits evolve by selection and drift. Despite the centrality of these issues, comparative, experimental, and analytical approaches to understanding the stability and evolution of the G-matrix have met with limited success. Nevertheless, empirical studies often find that certain structural features of the matrix are remarkably constant, suggesting that persistent selection regimes or other factors promote stability. On the theoretical side, no one has been able to derive equations that would relate stability of the G-matrix to selection regimes, population size, migration, or to the details of genetic architecture. Recent simulation studies of evolving G-matrices offer solutions to some of these problems, as well as a deeper, synthetic understanding of both the G-matrix and adaptive radiations.

• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Inc,Blackwell Publishing, Inc,Oxford University Press
• Subject: Adaptation, Biological / Adaptive landscape / Biological Evolution / Commentary / Eigenvalues / Eigenvectors / Ellipses / Evolution / Evolutionary biology / Evolutionary genetics / Genetic Drift / Genetic mutation / genetic variance-covariance matrix / Genotype & phenotype / Inheritance Patterns / Phenotype / phenotypic evolution / Phenotypic traits / Population number / Population size / Quantitative genetics / selection surface / Selection, Genetic / Simulation / Stabilizing selection / Studies