Beyond mean allelic effects: A locus at the major color gene MC1R associates also with differing levels of phenotypic and genetic (co)variance for coloration in barn owls.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_7A9E337EEB43
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Beyond mean allelic effects: A locus at the major color gene MC1R associates also with differing levels of phenotypic and genetic (co)variance for coloration in barn owls.
Journal
Evolution
Author(s)
San-Jose L.M., Ducret V., Ducrest A.L., Simon C., Roulin A.
ISSN
1558-5646 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0014-3820
Publication state
Published
Issued date
10/2017
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
71
Number
10
Pages
2469-2483
Language
english
Abstract
The mean phenotypic effects of a discovered variant help to predict major aspects of the evolution and inheritance of a phenotype. However, differences in the phenotypic variance associated to distinct genotypes are often overlooked despite being suggestive of processes that largely influence phenotypic evolution, such as interactions between the genotypes with the environment or the genetic background. We present empirical evidence for a mutation at the melanocortin-1-receptor gene, a major vertebrate coloration gene, affecting phenotypic variance in the barn owl, Tyto alba. The white MC1R allele, which associates with whiter plumage coloration, also associates with a pronounced phenotypic and additive genetic variance for distinct color traits. Contrarily, the rufous allele, associated with a rufous coloration, relates to a lower phenotypic and additive genetic variance, suggesting that this allele may be epistatic over other color loci. Variance differences between genotypes entailed differences in the strength of phenotypic and genetic associations between color traits, suggesting that differences in variance also alter the level of integration between traits. This study highlights that addressing variance differences of genotypes in wild populations provides interesting new insights into the evolutionary mechanisms and the genetic architecture underlying the phenotype.
Keywords
Alleles, Animals, Epistasis, Genetic, Evolution, Molecular, Feathers/metabolism, Genetic Background, Genetic Variation, Genotype, Phenotype, Pigmentation/genetics, Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 1/genetics, Strigiformes/genetics, Adaptive genetic variation, MC1R, bird coloration, epistasis, phenotype-genotype, phenotypic integration
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
07/12/2018 18:48
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:36
Usage data