Search for evolutionary capacitor and its adaptive potential

一种被称为进化电容的概念机制缓冲了遗传和环境的扰动，并使遗传变异保持隐密，在种群中积累突变。在目前的研究中，我以黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）为研究材料，利用等基因缺陷菌株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，显著增加了翅膀形状的广义遗传力。此外，一些基因组缺失揭示了翼形态的定性隐性遗传变异，如翼室增加、翼脉缺失等。这些结果表明，自然遗传变异存在多个电容，影响自然遗传变异的基因组区域可能包含进化电容的候选基因。

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.