Eco-Evolutionary Genomics of Chromosomal Inversions

作者：Maren Wellenreuther, Louis Bernatchez · 发表于：Trends in Ecology & Evolution · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1016/j.tree.2018.04.002 · 被引用次数：722 · 研究领域：Genetic diversity and population structure、Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals、Chromosomal and Genetic Variations

Chromosomal inversions have long fascinated evolutionary biologists due to their suppression of recombination, which can protect co-adapted alleles. Emerging research documents that inversions are commonly linked to spectacular phenotypes and have a pervasive role in eco-evolutionary processes, from mating systems, social organisation, environmental adaptation, and reproductive isolation to speciation. Studies also reveal that inversions are taxonomically widespread, with many being old and large, and that balancing selection is commonly facilitating their maintenance. This challenges the traditional view that the role of balancing selection in maintaining variation is relatively minor. The ubiquitous importance of inversions in ecological and evolutionary processes suggests that structural variation should be better acknowledged and integrated in studies pertaining to the molecular basis of adaptation and speciation.