Evolution in changing environments: Modifiers of mutation, recombination, and migration

Environmental variability is known to promote the evolution of mechanisms that increase phenotypic diversity. The evolution of recombination, mutation, and migration, which endow a population with the needed genetic and phenotypic variability, has been a focus of study in population genetics for more than five decades. Theoretical approaches have focused on conditions for the evolution of recombination, mutation, and migration when environments change periodically and with symmetric selection pressures. Here we extend these models to incorporate random and asymmetric selection. We compare and contrast how fluctuating selection affects the stable rates of these three evolutionary forces and highlight surprising similarities in their evolution under fluctuating selection. This study offers insights into the role of environmental duration, shape, and randomness in predicting the long-term evolutionary advantage of recombination, mutation, and migration.