Mito-nuclear selection induces a trade-off between species ecological dominance and evolutionary lifespan

Author(s)

Princepe, Debora ; de Aguiar, Marcus A. M. ; Plotkin, Joshua B.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION; v. 6, n. 12, p. 13-pg., 2022-10-10.

Abstract

Mitochondrial and nuclear genomes must be co-adapted to ensure proper cellular respiration and energy production. Mito-nuclear incompatibility reduces individual fitness and induces hybrid infertility, which can drive reproductive barriers and speciation. Here, we develop a birth-death model for evolution in spatially extended populations under selection for mito-nuclear co-adaptation. Mating is constrained by physical and genetic proximity, and offspring inherit nuclear genomes from both parents, with recombination. The model predicts macroscopic patterns including a community's species diversity, species abundance distribution, speciation and extinction rates, as well as intraspecific and interspecific genetic variation. We explore how these long-term outcomes depend upon the parameters of reproduction: individual fitness governed by mito-nuclear compatibility, constraints on mating compatibility and ecological carrying capacity. We find that strong selection for mito-nuclear compatibility reduces the equilibrium number of species after a radiation, increasing species' abundances and simultaneously increasing both speciation and extinction rates. The negative correlation between species diversity and diversification rates in our model agrees with the broad empirical pattern of lower diversity and higher speciation/extinction rates in temperate regions, compared to the tropics. We conclude that these empirical patterns may be caused in part by latitudinal variation in metabolic demands and corresponding variation in selection for mito-nuclear function. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/24449-3 - Evolution of the mitonuclear genetic interaction
• Grantee: Débora Princepe
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 18/11187-8 - Mitochondrial inheritance in phylogenetic trees
• Grantee: Débora Princepe
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 16/01343-7 - ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research: a regional center for theoretical physics
• Grantee: Nathan Jacob Berkovits
• Support Opportunities: Special Projects
• FAPESP's process: 19/20271-5 - Evolutionary models in population dynamics
• Grantee: Marcus Aloizio Martinez de Aguiar
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants