Elevated rates of molecular evolution genome-wide in mutualist legumes and rhizobia

Rates of molecular evolution vary greatly among even closely related species. Although theory predicts that antagonistic interactions between species increase rates of molecular evolution, predictions for how mutualism affects evolutionary rates are mixed. Here, we compared rates of molecular evolution between 1) mutualistic and non-mutualistic legumes, 2) an independent set of symbiotic rhizobia and their non-symbiotic close relatives, and 3) symbiotic and non-symbiotic clades within Ensifer, a diverse genus of bacteria with various lifestyles. We assembled transcriptomes de novo for 12 legume species and then calculated dN/dS ratios at orthologous genes in all species to determine if genes in mutualistic plants evolve faster or slower than in their non-mutualistic relatives. We also calculated dN/dS ratios in symbiosis genes known to be important for nodulation with rhizobia. We found that mutualists have higher rates of molecular evolution genome-wide compared to non-mutualist legumes. We next calculated dN/dS ratios in 14 bacteria species across the proteobacteria phylogeny that differ in whether they associate mutualistically with plants, using previously published data. We found that in most pairs, symbiotic rhizobia show higher dN/dS values compared to their non-symbiotic relatives. Finally, within a bacterial genus with many well-characterized mutualist species (Ensifer), we calculated dN/dS ratios in symbiotic and non-symbiotic clades and found that symbiotic lineages have higher rates of molecular evolution genome-wide, but not at genes on the symbiotic plasmid pSymB. Our results suggest that although mutualism between legumes and rhizobia is associated with elevated rates of molecular evolution genome-wide, symbiosis genes may be evolutionarily stagnant.