Air-borne genotype by genotype indirect genetic effects are substantial in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans

Abstract

Genotype by genotype indirect genetic effects (G × G IGEs) occur when the phenotype of an individual is influenced by an interaction between its own genotype and those of neighbour individuals. Little is known regarding the relative importance of G × G IGEs compared with other forms of direct and indirect genetic effects. We quantified the relative importance of IGEs in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, a species in which IGEs are likely to be important as air-borne social interactions are known to affect growth. We used a collection of distantly related wild isolates, lab strains and a set of closely related mutation accumulation lines to estimate the contribution of direct and indirect genetic effects on mycelium growth rate, a key fitness component. We found that indirect genetic effects were dominated by G × G IGEs that occurred primarily between a focal genotype and its immediate neighbour within a vertical stack, and these accounted for 11% of phenotypic variation. These results indicate that G × G IGEs may be substantial, at least in some systems, and that the evolutionary importance of these interactions may be underappreciated, especially in microbes. We advocate for a wider use of the IGE framework in both applied (for example, choice of varietal mixtures in plant breeding) and evolutionary genetics (kin selection/kin competition studies).