Invasions of an obligate asexual daphnid species support the nearly neutral theory.

To verify the "nearly neutral theory (NNT)," the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitutions (dN/dS) was compared among populations of different species. To determine the validity of NNT, however, populations that are genetically isolated from each other but share the same selection agents and differ in size should be compared. Genetically different lineages of obligate asexual Daphnia pulex invading Japan from North America are an ideal example as they satisfy these prerequisites. Therefore, we analyzed the whole-genome sequences of 18 genotypes, including those of the two independently invaded D. pulex lineages (JPN1 and JPN2) and compared the dN/dS ratio between the lineages. The base substitution rate of each genotype demonstrated that the JPN1 lineage having a larger distribution range diverged earlier and thus was older than the JPN2 lineage. Comparisons of the genotypes within lineages revealed that changes in dN/dS occurred after the divergence and were larger in the younger lineage, JPN2. These results imply that the JPN1 lineage has been more effectively subjected to purification selections, while slightly deteriorating mutations are less purged in JPN2 with smaller population size. Altogether, the lineage-specific difference in the dN/dS ratio for the obligate asexual D. pulex was well explained by the NNT.