Rönnegård, Lars
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Understanding the genetic basis of traits involved in adaptation is a major challenge in evolutionary biology but remains poorly understood. Here, we use genome-wide association mapping using a custom 50 k single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array in a natural population of collared flycatchers to examine the genetic basis of clutch size, an important life-history trait in many animal species. We found evidence for an association on chromosome 18 where one SNP significant at the genome-wide level explained 3.9% of the phenotypic variance. We also detected two suggestive quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on chromosomes 9 and 26. Fitness differences among genotypes were generally weak and not significant, although there was some indication of a sex-by-genotype interaction for lifetime reproductive success at the suggestive QTL on chromosome 26. This implies that sexual antagonism may play a role in maintaining genetic variation at this QTL. Our findings provide candidate regions for a classic avian life-history trait that will be useful for future studies examining the molecular and cellular function of, as well as evolutionary mechanisms operating at, these loci.
Keywords
clutch size; egg production; Ficedula albicollis; fitness trait; GWAS; QTL
Published in
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
2015, volume: 282, number: 1806, article number: 20150156
Publisher: The Royal Society Publishing
SLU Authors
Ellegren, Hans
- Uppsala University
UKÄ Subject classification
Genetics and Breeding in Agricultural Sciences
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0156
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/69135