Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2017
Artificial Selection Response due to Polygenic Adaptation from a Multilocus, Multiallelic Genetic Architecture
Zan, Yanjun; Sheng, Zheya; Lillie, Mette; Ronnegard, Lars; Honaker, Christa F.; Siegel, Paul B.; Carlborg, OrjanAbstract
The ability of a population to adapt to changes in their living conditions, whether in nature or captivity, often depends on polymorphisms in multiple genes across the genome. In-depth studies of such polygenic adaptations are difficult in natural populations, but can be approached using the resources provided by artificial selection experiments. Here, we dissect the genetic mechanisms involved in long-term selection responses of the Virginia chicken lines, populations that after 40 generations of divergent selection for 56-day body weight display a 9-fold difference in the selected trait. In the F-15 generation of an intercross between the divergent lines, 20 loci explained > 60% of the additive genetic variance for the selected trait. We focused particularly on fine-mapping seven major QTL that replicated in this population and found that only two fine-mapped to single, bi-allelic loci; the other five contained linked loci, multiple alleles or were epistatic. This detailed dissection of the polygenic adaptations in the Virginia lines provides a deeper understanding of the range of different genome-wide mechanisms that have been involved in these long-term selection responses. The results illustrate that the genetic architecture of a highly polygenic trait can involve a broad range of genetic mechanisms, and that this can be the case even in a small population bred from founders with limited genetic diversity.Keywords
genetic variation; epistasis; multiallelic; genetic architecture; multilocus; polygenic adaptationPublished in
Molecular Biology and Evolution2017, volume: 34, number: 10, pages: 2678-2689
Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
Authors' information
Uppsala University
Sheng, Zheya
Huazhong Agricultural University
Sheng, Zheya
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Clinical Sciences
Lillie, Mette
Uppsala University
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Clinical Sciences
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics
Dalarna University
Honaker, Christa
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
Siegel, Paul B.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
Carlborg, Örjan
Uppsala University
UKÄ Subject classification
Genetics and Breeding
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msx194
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/92753