Feiner N, Brun-Usan M, Andrade P, Pranter R, Park S, Menke DB, Geneva AJ, Uller T. A single locus regulates a female-limited color pattern polymorphism in a reptile.
SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022;
8:eabm2387. [PMID:
35263124 DOI:
10.1126/sciadv.abm2387]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Animal coloration is often expressed in periodic patterns that can arise from differential cell migration, yet how these processes are regulated remains elusive. We show that a female-limited polymorphism in dorsal patterning (diamond/chevron) in the brown anole is controlled by a single Mendelian locus. This locus contains the gene CCDC170 that is adjacent to, and coexpressed with, the Estrogen receptor-1 gene, explaining why the polymorphism is female limited. CCDC170 is an organizer of the Golgi-microtubule network underlying a cell's ability to migrate, and the two segregating alleles encode structurally different proteins. Our agent-based modeling of skin development demonstrates that, in principle, a change in cell migratory behaviors is sufficient to switch between the two morphs. These results suggest that CCDC170 might have been co-opted as a switch between color patterning morphs, likely by modulating cell migratory behaviors.
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