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Toli EA, Bounas A, Merilä J, Sotiropoulos K. Genetic diversity and detection of candidate loci associated with alternative morphotypes in a tailed amphibian. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Phenotypic changes in response to environmental cues allow organisms to adapt and enhance their fitness in a given habitat. Despite the significance of phenotypic plasticity in the evolution and ecology of natural populations and the ongoing development of new genomic tools, the underlying genetic basis is still largely unknown. Herein, we examined the underlying mechanisms of genetic and phenotypic divergence among alternative morphs of a natural population of the Greek smooth newt (Lissotriton graecus). The studied population consists of fully aquatic individuals exhibiting facultative paedomorphosis, the retention of larval traits such as gills, and individuals that have passed metamorphosis (paedomorphic vs. metamorphic newts). Based on the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained, we observed low genetic divergence between the two alternative morphs and similar levels of gene diversity on neutral markers. Despite the observed high gene flow between the morphs, an Fst approach for outliers detected candidate loci putatively associated with the alternative morphs that mapped to four genes. These identified genes have functional roles in metabolic processes that may mediate the persistence of alternative ontogenetic trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisavet A Toli
- Molecular Ecology and Conservation Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina , 45110 Ioannina , Greece
| | - Anastasios Bounas
- Molecular Ecology and Conservation Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina , 45110 Ioannina , Greece
| | - Juha Merilä
- Ecological Genetics Research Unit, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki , 00014 Finland
- Area of Ecology and Biodiversity, The School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong SAR
| | - Konstantinos Sotiropoulos
- Molecular Ecology and Conservation Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina , 45110 Ioannina , Greece
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Bohenek JR, Pintar MR, Breech TM, Resetarits WJ. A wolf in sheep's clothing: Predatory fish have convergent consumptive effects but divergent predation‐risk effects. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jason R. Bohenek
- Department of Biology and Center for Water and Wetlands Resources The University of Mississippi University Mississippi USA
| | - Matthew R. Pintar
- Department of Biology and Center for Water and Wetlands Resources The University of Mississippi University Mississippi USA
| | - Tyler M. Breech
- Department of Biology and Center for Water and Wetlands Resources The University of Mississippi University Mississippi USA
| | - William J. Resetarits
- Department of Biology and Center for Water and Wetlands Resources The University of Mississippi University Mississippi USA
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