Search for evolutionary capacitor and its adaptive potential

一种名为进化电容器的概念性机器缓冲了遗传和环境的干扰，并保持了遗传变异的隐蔽性，从而在种群中积累了突变。在本研究中，我以黑腹果蝇为研究材料，利用同基因缺失品系寻找调节翅膀形态自然遗传变异的基因组区域。结果表明，多个基因组区域影响了数量遗传变异，显著提高了翼形的广义遗传力。此外，一些基因组的缺失揭示了翅膀形态上的定性的隐蔽遗传变异，如额外的翅室、缺少翼脉等。这些结果表明，自然遗传变异存在多个电容器，影响自然遗传变异的基因组区域可能包含进化电容器的候选基因。

A conceptual machinery called an evolutionary capacitor buffers genetic and environmental perturbations and keeps genetic variation cryptic, accumulating mutations in a population. In the current study, I used Drosophila melanogaster as a study material, and searched for genomic regions that regulated natural genetic variation in wing morphology using isogenic deficiency strains. As a result, multiple genomic regions were shown to affect quantitative genetic variation and significantly increased broad-sense heritability of wing shape. In addition, several genomic deletions revealed qualitative cryptic genetic variation in wing morphology such as extra wing compartment, lack of wing vein etc. These results indicate the existence of multiple capacitors for natural genetic variation, and the genomic regions with effect on natural genetic variation may encompass candidate genes for evolutionary capacitors.