A window on the genetics of evolution:<i>MC1R</i>and plumage colouration in birds

Mundy, Nicholas I.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3107

Cited by 305 publications

(304 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…2007; Dessinioti et al. 2011), despite many of the genes known to be involved having no obvious pleiotropic effects (Mundy 2005; Bellone 2010). This has stimulated ongoing research into the underlying mechanisms at the level of the genome (e.g., Küpper et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Born blonde: a recessive loss‐of‐function mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor is associated with cream coat coloration inAntarctic fur seals

Peters

Humble

Kröcker

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Although the genetic basis of color variation has been extensively studied in humans and domestic animals, the genetic polymorphisms responsible for different color morphs remain to be elucidated in many wild vertebrate species. For example, hypopigmentation has been observed in numerous marine mammal species but the underlying mutations have not been identified. A particularly compelling candidate gene for explaining color polymorphism is the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), which plays a key role in the regulation of pigment production. We therefore used Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) as a highly tractable marine mammal system with which to test for an association between nucleotide variation at the MC1R and melanin‐based coat color phenotypes. By sequencing 70 wild‐type individuals with dark‐colored coats and 26 hypopigmented individuals with cream‐colored coats, we identified a nonsynonymous mutation that results in the substitution of serine with phenylalanine at an evolutionarily highly conserved structural domain. All of the hypopigmented individuals were homozygous for the allele coding for phenylalanine, consistent with a recessive loss‐of‐function allele. In order to test for cryptic population structure, which can generate artefactual associations, and to evaluate whether homozygosity at the MC1R could be indicative of low genome‐wide heterozygosity, we also genotyped all of the individuals at 50 polymorphic microsatellite loci. We were unable to detect any population structure and also found that wild‐type and hypopigmented individuals did not differ significantly in their standardized multilocus heterozygosity. Such a lack of association implies that hypopigmented individuals are unlikely to suffer disproportionately from inbreeding depression, and hence, we have no reason to believe that they are at a selective disadvantage in the wider population.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Born blonde: a recessive loss‐of‐function mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor is associated with cream coat coloration inAntarctic fur seals

Peters

Humble

Kröcker

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Such studies will reveal, for example, whether the predominant role of cisregulatory evolution observed for Drosophila melanin patterning is a general feature of insect pigmentation divergence. Studies of morphological traits controlled by pleiotropic developmental pathways in a variety of organisms suggest cis-regulatory changes are indeed a pervasive source of phenotypic diversification (examples in [87][88][89][90]; recent reviews [45,46]), while studies of variation in traits controlled by developmental systems with less pleiotropysuch as melanin synthesis activated by the dedicated Melanocortin 1 receptor in specialized vertebrate cells -suggest changes in amino acid sequence can be common as well [91].…”

Section: The Promise Of Pigmentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and evolution of insect pigmentation: Genetic mechanisms and the potential consequences of pleiotropy

Wittkopp

Beldade

2009

Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology

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a b s t r a c tInsect pigmentation is a premier model system in evolutionary and developmental biology. It has been at the heart of classical studies as well as recent breakthroughs. In insects, pigments are produced by epidermal cells through a developmental process that includes pigment patterning and synthesis. Many aspects of this process also impact other phenotypes, including behavior and immunity. This review discusses recent work on the development and evolution of insect pigmentation, with a focus on pleiotropy and its effects on color pattern diversification.

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“…Unlike for many other avian species (see Mundy, 2005), a number of hypotheses for the adaptive significance for both pigmentary and structural variation in pied flycatchers have been put forward. The melanin-based component of male breeding plumage has been suggested to primarily be shaped by selection pressure generated by the presence/absence of the congeneric dominant black-and-white collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis; (Saetre and Saether, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Candidate genes for colour and vision exhibit signals of selection across the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) breeding range

et al. 2011

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The role of natural selection in shaping adaptive trait differentiation in natural populations has long been recognized. Determining its molecular basis, however, remains a challenge. Here, we search for signals of selection in candidate genes for colour and its perception in a passerine bird. Pied flycatcher plumage varies geographically in both its structural and pigment-based properties. Both characteristics appear to be shaped by selection. A single-locus outlier test revealed 2 of 14 loci to show significantly elevated signals of divergence. The first of these, the follistatin gene, is expressed in the developing feather bud and is found in pathways with genes that determine the structure of feathers and may thus be important in generating variation in structural colouration. The second is a gene potentially underlying the ability to detect this variation: SWS1 opsin. These two loci were most differentiated in two Spanish pied flycatcher populations, which are also among the populations that have the highest UV reflectance. The follistatin and SWS1 opsin genes thus provide strong candidates for future investigations on the molecular basis of adaptively significant traits and their co-evolution.

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A window on the genetics of evolution:MC1Rand plumage colouration in birds

Cited by 305 publications

References 77 publications

Born blonde: a recessive loss‐of‐function mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor is associated with cream coat coloration inAntarctic fur seals

Born blonde: a recessive loss‐of‐function mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor is associated with cream coat coloration inAntarctic fur seals

Development and evolution of insect pigmentation: Genetic mechanisms and the potential consequences of pleiotropy

Candidate genes for colour and vision exhibit signals of selection across the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) breeding range

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