Universität zu Köln

Freund, Fabian, Wirtz, Johannes, Zheng, Yichen, Schäfer, Yannick ORCID: 0000-0002-5264-8816 and Wiehe, Thomas ORCID: 0000-0002-8932-2772 (2025). Muller’s ratchet and gene duplication. Theoretical Population Biology, 164. pp. 12-22. Elsevier. ISSN 00405809

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Abstract

Copy number of genes in gene families can be highly variable among individuals and may continue to change across generations. Here, we study a model of duplication–selection interaction, which is related to Haigh’s mutation–selection model of Muller’s ratchet. New gene copies are generated by duplication but fitness of individuals decreases as copy number increases. Our model comes in two flavors: duplicates are copied either from a single template or from any existing copy. A duplication–selection equilibrium exists in both cases for infinite size populations and is given by a shifted Poisson or a negative binomial distribution. Unless counteracted by synergistic epistasis, finite populations suffer from loss of low copy-number haplotypes by drift, forcing them into a regime called ‘run-away evolution’ in which new copies accumulate without bound nor equilibrium. We discuss a few empirical examples and interpret them in the light of our models. Generally, large gene families appear too over-dispersed to fit the single template model suggesting a dynamic, and potentially accelerating, duplication process.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Freund, Fabian UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Wirtz, Johannes UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Zheng, Yichen UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Schäfer, Yannick UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5264-8816 UNSPECIFIED Wiehe, Thomas UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8932-2772 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-804947
Identification Number:	10.1016/j.tpb.2025.04.002
Journal or Publication Title:	Theoretical Population Biology
Volume:	164
Page Range:	pp. 12-22
Number of Pages:	11
Date:	August 2025
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	00405809
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences > Department of Biology > Institute for Genetics
Subjects:	Life sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Gene duplication ; Multiplicative fitness ; Synergistic epistasis ; Muller’s ratchet ; Danio rerio ; Homo sapiens English
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/80494