Adaptive evolution of nontransitive fitness in yeast

Nontransitivity – commonly illustrated by the rock-paper-scissors game – is well documented among extant species as a contributor to biodiversity. However, it is unclear if nontransitive interactions also arise by way of genealogical succession, and if so, through what mechanisms. Here we identify a nontransitive evolutionary sequence in the context of yeast experimental evolution in which a 1,000-generation evolved clone outcompetes a recent ancestor but loses in direct competition with a distant ancestor. We show that nontransitivity arises due to the combined forces of adaptation in the yeast nuclear genome and the stepwise deterioration of an intracellular virus. We show that, given the initial conditions of the experiment, this outcome likely to arise: nearly half of all populations experience multilevel selection, fixing adaptive mutations in both the nuclear and viral genomes. In contrast to conventional views of virus-host coevolution, we find no evidence that viral mutations (including loss of the virus) increase the fitness of the host. Instead, the evolutionary success of evolved viral variants results from their selective advantage over viral competitors within the context of individual cells. Our results provide the first mechanistic case-study of the adaptive evolution of nontransitivity, in which a series of adaptive replacements produce organisms that are less fit when compared to a distant genealogical ancestor.