Abstract
It is universally true in ecological communities, terrestrial or aquatic, temperate or tropical, that some species are very abundant, others are moderately common, and the majority are rare. Likewise, eukaryotic genomes also contain classes or “species” of genetic elements that vary greatly in abundance: DNA transposons, retrotransposons, satellite sequences, simple repeats and their less abundant functional sequences such as RNA or genes. Are the patterns of relative species abundance and diversity similar among ecological communities and genomes? Previous dynamical models of genomic diversity have focused on the selective forces shaping the abundance and diversity of transposable elements (TEs). However, ideally, models of genome dynamics should consider not only TEs, but also the diversity of all genetic classes or “species” populating eukaryotic genomes. Here, in an analysis of the diversity and abundance of genetic elements in >500 eukaryotic chromosomes, we show that the patterns are consistent with a neutral hypothesis of genome assembly in virtually all chromosomes tested. The distributions of relative abundance of genetic elements are quite precisely predicted by the dynamics of an ecological model for which the principle of functional equivalence is the main assumption. We hypothesize that at large temporal scales an overarching neutral or nearly neutral process governs the evolution of abundance and diversity of genetic elements in eukaryotic genomes.
Highlights
IntroductionIn no environment whether terrestrial or aquatic, temperate or tropical, all species are common [1]
An interesting property of relative species abundance (RSA) curves is that species are unlabeled so that the RSA distributions of different ecosystems can be compared whatever species they contain
The curves differ in many ways, two patterns are evident: (1) RSA curves of genomes and chromosomes are very similar for each eukaryotic species, and (2) all RSA curves display the universal S-shape observed in ecology [2,3], where few species are dominating, many are common, while the majority are rare
Summary
In no environment whether terrestrial or aquatic, temperate or tropical, all species are common [1] Species diversity and their relative abundance have always intrigued ecologists [2]. The unified neutral theory of biodiversity (UNTB) [3,4], originally inspired by neutral population genetics [5,6], assumes interactions among trophically similar species as equivalent on an individual or ‘‘per capita’’ basis. This provocative assumption means that the fate of individuals, regardless of the species, appear to be controlled by similar birth, death, dispersal, and speciation rates. UNTB is a useful null model against to test alternative biological hypotheses for the origin and maintenance of relative species abundance distributions [7,8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
