Allelic diversity for neutral markers retains a higher adaptive potential for quantitative traits than expected heterozygosity

The adaptive potential of a population depends on the amount of additive genetic variance for quantitative traits of evolutionary importance. This variance is a direct function of the expected frequency of heterozygotes for the loci which affect the trait (QTL). It has been argued, but not demonstrated experimentally, that long-term response to selection is more dependent on QTL allelic diversity than on QTL heterozygosity. Conservation programmes, aimed at preserving this variation, usually rely on neutral markers rather than on quantitative traits for making decisions on management. Here, we address, both through simulation analyses and experimental studies with Drosophila melanogaster, the question of whether allelic diversity for neutral markers is a better indicator of a high adaptive potential than expected heterozygosity. In both experimental and simulation studies, we established synthetic populations for which either heterozygosity or allelic diversity was maximized using infor...

种群的适应潜力，取决于与进化相关的数量性状的加性遗传方差总量。该方差直接由影响该性状的数量性状基因座（Quantitative Trait Locus，QTL）的杂合子预期频率所决定。尽管已有研究提出，相较于QTL杂合度，长期选择响应更依赖于QTL等位基因多样性，但该观点尚未得到实验验证。旨在保留这类遗传变异的保育计划，在制定管理决策时通常优先选用中性标记，而非以数量性状作为决策依据。本研究通过模拟分析与黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）实验研究相结合的方式，探讨了这样一个问题：中性标记的等位基因多样性是否比预期杂合度更能准确反映种群的高适应潜力。在实验与模拟研究中，我们构建了合成种群，通过相关信息手段最大化其中的杂合度或等位基因多样性。