Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan
Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan.
Proc Biol Sci. 2018 Jan 31;285(1871). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2045.
Although genetic diversity within a population is suggested to improve population-level fitness and productivity, the existence of these effects is controversial because empirical evidence for an ecological effect of genetic diversity and the underlying mechanisms is scarce and incomplete. Here, we show that the natural single-gene behavioural polymorphism ( and ) in has a positive effect on population fitness. Our simple numerical model predicted that the fitness of a polymorphic population would be higher than that expected with two monomorphic populations, but only under balancing selection. Moreover, this positive diversity effect of genetic polymorphism was attributable to a complementarity effect, rather than to a selection effect. Our empirical tests using the behavioural polymorphism in clearly supported the model predictions. These results provide direct evidence for an ecological effect of genetic diversity on population fitness and its condition dependence.
虽然种群内的遗传多样性被认为可以提高种群水平的适应性和生产力，但这些影响的存在存在争议，因为遗传多样性的生态效应及其潜在机制的经验证据还很缺乏且不完整。在这里，我们表明， 中的自然单基因行为多态性（ 和 ）对种群适应性有积极影响。我们的简单数值模型预测，在平衡选择下，多态种群的适应性将高于两个单态种群的预期适应性。此外，这种遗传多态性的积极多样性效应归因于互补效应，而不是选择效应。我们使用 中的行为多态性进行的实证检验清楚地支持了模型预测。这些结果为遗传多样性对种群适应性的生态效应及其条件依赖性提供了直接证据。
