@article{fdi:010037995,
  title = {{T}he evolution of sex and recombination in response to abiotic or coevolutionary fluctuations in epistasis},
  author = {{G}andon, {S}ylvain and {O}tto, {S}. {P}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{E}volutionary biologists have identified several factors that could explain the widespread phenomena of sex and recombination. {O}ne hypothesis is that host-parasite interactions favor sex and recombination because they favor the production of rare genotypes. {A} problem with many of the early models of this so-called {R}ed {Q}ueen hypothesis is that several factors are acting together: directional selection, fluctuating epistasis, and drift. {I}t is thus difficult to identify what exactly is selecting for sex in these models. {I}s one factor more important than the others or is it the synergistic action of these different factors that really matters? {H}ere we focus on the analysis of a simple model with a single mechanism that might select for sex: fluctuating epistasis. {W}e first analyze the evolution of sex and recombination when the temporal fluctuations are driven by the abiotic environment. {W}e then analyze the evolution of sex and recombination in a two-species coevolutionary model, where directional selection is absent (allele frequencies remain fixed) and temporal variation in epistasis is induced by coevolution with the antagonist species. {I}n both cases we contrast situations with weak and strong selection and derive the evolutionarily stable ({ES}) recombination rate. {T}he {ES} recombination rate is most sensitive to the period of the cycles, which in turn depends on the strength of epistasis. {I}n particular, more virulent parasites cause more rapid cycles and consequently increase the {ES} recombination rate of the host. {A}lthough the {ES} strategy is maximized at an intermediate period, some recombination is favored even when fluctuations are very slow. {B}y contrast, the amplitude of the cycles has no effect on the {ES} level of sex and recombination, unless sex and recombination are costly, in which case high er-amplitude cycles allow the evolution of higher rates of sex and recombination. {I}n the coevolutionary model, the amount of recombination in the interacting species also has a large effect on the {ES}, with evolution favoring higher rates of sex and recombination than in the interacting species. {I}n general, the {ES} recombination rate is less than or equal to the recombination rate that would maximize mean fitness. {W}e also discuss the effect of migration when sex and recombination evolve in a metapopulation. {W}e find that intermediate parasite migration rates maximize the degree of local adaptation of the parasite and lead to a higher {ES} recombination rate in the host.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{G}enetics},
  volume = {175},
  numero = {4},
  pages = {1835--1853},
  ISSN = {0016-6731},
  year = {2007},
  DOI = {10.1534/genetics.106.066399},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010037995},
}