根据发表在《进化》（Evolution）上的文章，对某些传染类疾病的抵抗力可能通过父母遗传给后代。拥有这类基因抵抗力的家族无疑是幸运的，他们既不会患上相关疾病，又不会将这些疾病带回家中。文章的作者Paul Schliekelman表示，这一研究受到了他自己经历的启发，作者曾在6个月内被女儿传染急性胃肠炎3次。
Schliekelman利用数学模型计算出了“亲缘选择”在自然进化中可能的作用。他表示：“自然选择通常被看作是‘适者生存’，但在我们的研究中称它为‘合适的家庭生存’可能更准确。”
Schliekelman研究取得的成果主要包括：从家庭成员那里被传染疾病的可能性非常高；如果有一位亲属拥有对一种疾病的抵抗力基因，那其他家庭成员感染相同疾病的几率也会更小；对疾病的抵抗力基因容易在家庭中丛发性出现；因此抵抗力基因一般能帮助家族中的每个人防御疾病，并且这种自然选择会大幅度提升。
研究使用的模型对于了解致命疾病的传播非常有效，而且可能改变人群中特定基因的长期自然选择。研究这些疾病的基因行为是迈向了解传染病抵抗力进化历史的重要一步。 （教育部科技发展中心）
原文链接：http://www.physorg.com/news107705954.html
原始出处:
Volume 61 Issue 6 Page 1277-1288, June 2007
To cite this article: Paul Schliekelman (2007)
KIN SELECTION AND EVOLUTION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESISTANCE
Evolution 61 (6), 1277–1288.
doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00122.x
KIN SELECTION AND EVOLUTION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESISTANCE
Paul Schliekelman11Department of Statistics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602–1952 E-mail: pdschlie@stat.uga.edu 1Department of Statistics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602–1952 E-mail: pdschlie@stat.uga.edu
Discoveries of mutations conferring resistance to infectious diseases have led to increased interest in the evolutionary dynamics of disease resistance. Several recent papers have estimated the historical strength of selection for mutations conferring disease resistance. These studies are based on simple population genetic models that do not take account of factors such as spatial and family structure. Such factors may have a substantial impact on the strength of natural selection through inclusive fitness effects. That is, people have a strong tendency to live with relatives and therefore have a high probability of transmitting infectious diseases to them. Thus, an allele that protects an individual against disease infection also protects that individual's family members. Because some of these family members are likely to also be carrying the allele, selection for that allele is magnified by family structure. In this paper, I use mathematical modeling techniques to explore the impact of such kin selection on the strength of selection for infectious disease resistance alleles. I show that if the resistance allele has the same proportional effect on both within- and between-family transmission, then the impact of kin selection is relatively minor. Selection coefficients are increased by 5–35%, with a greater benefit for weaker alleles. The reason is that an individual with a strong resistance allele does not need much protection from infection by family members and thus does not benefit much from their alleles. The effect of kin selection can be dramatic, however, if the resistance allele has a larger effect on between-family transmission than within-family transmission (which can occur if between-family infection rates are much smaller than within-family rates), increasing selection coefficients by as much as two- to threefold. These results show conditions when it is important to consider family structure in estimates of the strength of selection for infectious disease resistance alleles.
