Data from: Sensitivity of the distribution of mutational fitness effects to environment, genetic background, and adaptedness: a case study with Drosophila

Heterogeneity in the fitness effects of individual mutations has been found across different environmental and genetic contexts. Going beyond effects on individual mutations, how is the distribution of selective effects, f(s), altered by changes in genetic and environmental context? In this study, we examined changes in the major features of f(s) by estimating viability selection on 36 individual mutations in Drosophila melanogaster across two different environments in two different genetic backgrounds that were either adapted or nonadapted to the two test environments. Both environment and genetic background affected selection on individual mutations. However, the overall distribution f(s) appeared robust to changes in genetic background but both the mean, E(s), and the variance, V(s) were dependent on the environment. Between these two properties, V(s) was more sensitive to environmental change. Contrary to predictions of fitness landscape theory, the match between genetic background and assay environment (i.e., adaptedness) had little effect on f(s).

现有研究表明，单个突变的适合度效应（fitness effects）在不同环境与遗传背景下存在异质性。相较于仅聚焦单个突变的效应，遗传与环境背景的变化会如何改变选择效应分布f(s)（distribution of selective effects）？本研究以黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）为研究对象，在两种分别适配或不适配两种测试环境的遗传背景下，于两种实验环境中对36个单个突变开展生活力选择（viability selection）效应评估，以此分析f(s)的核心特征变化规律。研究发现，环境与遗传背景均会对单个突变的选择效应产生影响。不过，整体的选择效应分布f(s)对遗传背景的变化表现出较强的鲁棒性，但选择效应的期望E(s)与方差V(s)均受环境调控。在这两项特征中，方差V(s)对环境变化的敏感性更高。与适合度景观理论（fitness landscape theory）的预测相悖的是，遗传背景与测试环境的匹配程度（即适应性适配度（adaptedness））对f(s)几乎无影响。