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Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2022

Rapid adaptive radiation of Darwin's finches depends on ancestral genetic modules

Rubin, Carl-Johan; Enbody, Erik D.; Dobreva, Mariya P.; Abzhanov, Arhat; Davis, Brian W.; Lamichhaney, Sangeet; Pettersson, Mats; Sendell-Price, Ashley T.; Sprehn, C. Grace; Valle, Carlos A.; Vasco, Karla; Wallerman, Ola; Grant, B. Rosemary; Grant, Peter R.; Andersson, Leif

Abstract

Recent adaptive radiations are models for investigating mechanisms contributing to the evolution of biodiversity. An unresolved question is the relative importance of new mutations, ancestral variants, and introgressive hybridization for phenotypic evolution and speciation. Here, we address this issue using Darwin's finches and investigate the genomic architecture underlying their phenotypic diversity. Admixture mapping for beak and body size in the small, medium, and large ground finches revealed 28 loci showing strong genetic differentiation. These loci represent ancestral haplotype blocks with origins predating speciation events during the Darwin's finch radiation. Genes expressed in the developing beak are overrepresented in these genomic regions. Ancestral haplotypes constitute genetic modules for selection and act as key determinants of the unusual phenotypic diversity of Darwin's finches. Such ancestral haplotype blocks can be critical for how species adapt to environmental variability and change.

Published in

Science Advances
2022, volume: 8, number: 27, article number: eabm5982
Publisher: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

Authors' information

Rubin, Carl-Johan
Uppsala University
Rubin, Carl-Johan
Institute of Marine Research - Norway
Enbody, Erik D.
Uppsala University
Dobreva, Mariya P.
Imperial College London
Abzhanov, Arhat
Imperial College London
Davis, Brian W.
Texas AandM University College Station
Lamichhaney, Sangeet
Kent State University
Pettersson, Mats
Uppsala University
Sendell-Price, Ashley T.
Uppsala University
Sendell-Price, Ashley T.
University of Oxford
Sprehn, C. Grace
Uppsala University
Sprehn, C. Grace
United States Department of Energy (DOE)
Valle, Carlos A.
Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ)
Vasco, Karla
Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ)
Wallerman, Ola
Uppsala University
Grant, B. Rosemary
Princeton University
Grant, Peter R.
Princeton University
Andersson, Leif
Uppsala University
Texas AandM University College Station
Andersson, Leif
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics

UKÄ Subject classification

Evolutionary Biology
Genetics and Breeding

Publication Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm5982

URI (permanent link to this page)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/118466