Dynamic variants: Determining the evolutionary significance of chromosomal inversions

Inversions are large-scale structural mutations that may encompass hundreds of genes but segregate together as a single unit due to suppressed recombination, allowing them to function as supergenes and facilitate evolutionary processes such as adaptation and speciation.

However, inversions are not just passive vessels; their large size means that their linked allelic content as well as their frequency can vary.

This distinguishes inversions from other genetic variants and means that they cannot be fully encapsulated by classical one-locus theory and techniques.

Critically, the reduced recombination that arrangements (orientations) experience is a double-edged sword; it can facilitate local adaptation, but may also speed up the accumulation of deleterious alleles. I argue that this is a key process in inversion evolution and I aim to integrate it into new models (Objective 1).

Merging theoretical and empirical work, I will test key predictions from these models using the chromosome 1 inversion in Coelopa frigida as an empirical system (Objective 2).

I will elucidate natural patterns of inversion evolution by examining parallel genomic patterns associated with the repeated evolution of inverted regions (Objective 3).

This research program will make significant progress towards understanding how inversions evolve as well as build theoretical and genomic resources for a broad audience interested in the wider relationship between recombination and evolution.