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The genetic and molecular architecture of phenotypic diversity in sticklebacks - PubMed

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The genetic and molecular architecture of phenotypic diversity in sticklebacks

Catherine L Peichel et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2017.

Abstract

A major goal of evolutionary biology is to identify the genotypes and phenotypes that underlie adaptation to divergent environments. Stickleback fish, including the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and the ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), have been at the forefront of research to uncover the genetic and molecular architecture that underlies phenotypic diversity and adaptation. A wealth of quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping studies in sticklebacks have provided insight into long-standing questions about the distribution of effect sizes during adaptation as well as the role of genetic linkage in facilitating adaptation. These QTL mapping studies have also provided a basis for the identification of the genes that underlie phenotypic diversity. These data have revealed that mutations in regulatory elements play an important role in the evolution of phenotypic diversity in sticklebacks. Genetic and molecular studies in sticklebacks have also led to new insights on the genetic basis of repeated evolution and suggest that the same loci are involved about half of the time when the same phenotypes evolve independently. When the same locus is involved, selection on standing variation and repeated mutation of the same genes have both contributed to the evolution of similar phenotypes in independent populations.This article is part of the themed issue 'Evo-devo in the genomics era, and the origins of morphological diversity'.

Keywords: Gasterosteus aculeatus; Pungitius pungitius; genetics of adaptation; quantitative trait locus; repeated evolution.

© 2016 The Author(s).

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.

Phenotypic differences between marine and freshwater threespine sticklebacks. The top photos show a representative marine (a) and freshwater (b) male with the nuptial coloration (red throat, blue eyes) typically found in threespine stickleback males during the breeding season. Differences in overall pigmentation, body shape and body size between marine and freshwater sticklebacks are apparent in these photos; additional morphological, behavioural and physiological differences between marine and freshwater sticklebacks are not depicted. The bottom photos show a representative marine (c) and freshwater (d) fish stained with alizarin red to highlight the difference in the number of bony lateral plates found along the flank of the fish; scale bar, 10 mm. Photos provided by Jun Kitano and Seiichi Mori.

Figure 2.
Figure 2.

Distribution of effect size for QTL identified in threespine stickleback. Per cent variance explained (PVE) was available for 1034 QTL identified in 28 studies in threespine stickleback across nine trait categories (feeding, N = 416; body shape, N = 342; defence, N = 170; behaviour and sensory system, N = 35; swimming, N = 27; pigmentation, N = 20; respiration, N = 11; body size N = 8; reproduction, N = 5). Data are provided in electronic supplementary material, table S1; 63 QTL identified in the combined scan in Conte et al. [44] were redundant and therefore removed from this analysis.

Figure 3.
Figure 3.

Genomic distribution of QTL identified in threespine stickleback. Genomic position data are based on the Glazer et al. [18] genome assembly for 1104 QTL identified in 28 studies in threespine stickleback across nine trait categories (feeding, N = 422; body shape, N = 399; defence, N = 175; behaviour and sensory system, N = 35; swimming, N = 27; pigmentation, N = 20; respiration, N = 11; body size N = 10; reproduction, N = 5). For 71 QTL, PVE estimates are not available and so were plotted in greyscale as values of −8 here. Data are provided in electronic supplementary material, table S1; 63 QTL identified in the combined scan in Conte et al. [44] were redundant and therefore removed from this analysis, and one QTL mapped to an unassembled chromosome (chrUN) and was also omitted from this analysis. Chromosomes with more QTL than expected are indicated with an asterisk; full results of statistical analyses are provided in electronic supplementary material, table S4.

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References

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