On estimation and identifiability issues of sex‐linked inheritance with a case study of pigmentation in Swiss barn owl (<i>Tyto alba</i>)

Larsen, Camilla Thorrud; Holand, Anna Marie; Jensen, Henrik; Steinsland, Ingelin; Roulin, Alexandre

doi:10.1002/ece3.1032

Cited by 17 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…In the barn owl, we found evidence for the hypothesis that spot size is sexually antagonistically selected (positive selection in females and negative selection in males; Roulin et al ., , ). Although some of the underlying genes are located on sex chromosomes (Roulin et al ., ; Larsen et al ., ; Table ), the genetic correlation between males and females for spot size is very strong (0.963; Table b), implying that small‐spotted fathers will produce counter‐selected daughters. Furthermore, if the absolute strength of negative selection exerted in males is weaker than positive selection in females, males will evolve away from their phenotypic optimum, as we could demonstrate in Switzerland (Roulin et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…To examine whether any of the phenotypic variance observed in the reddish pheomelanin‐based coloration, number and diameter of black spots was due to genes located on the Z‐chromosomes (see Roulin et al ., ; Larsen et al ., ), we estimated autosomal and Z‐chromosomal additive genetic variances using Bayesian animal models and the INLA framework (Steinsland & Jensen, ; Holand et al ., ; Larsen et al ., ). These Bayesian animal models can currently only be used for single‐trait models and could hence not be used to estimate additive genetic covariances within and across sexes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex‐linked inheritance, genetic correlations and sexual dimorphism in three melanin‐based colour traits in the barn owl

Roulin

Jensen

2015

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Theory states that genes on the sex chromosomes have stronger effects on sexual dimorphism than genes on the autosomes. Although empirical data are not necessarily consistent with this theory, this situation may prevail because the relative role of sex-linked and autosomally inherited genes on sexual dimorphism has rarely been evaluated. We estimated the quantitative genetics of three sexually dimorphic melanin-based traits in the barn owl (Tyto alba), in which females are on average darker reddish pheomelanic and display more and larger black eumelanic feather spots than males. The plumage traits with higher sex-linked inheritance showed lower heritability and genetic correlations, but contrary to prediction, these traits showed less pronounced sexual dimorphism. Strong offspring sexual dimorphism primarily resulted from daughters not expressing malelike melanin-based traits and from sons expressing femalelike traits to similar degrees as their sisters. We conclude that in the barn owl, polymorphism at autosomal genes rather than at sex-linked genes generate variation in sexual dimorphism in melanin-based traits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex‐linked inheritance, genetic correlations and sexual dimorphism in three melanin‐based colour traits in the barn owl

Roulin

Jensen

2015

J of Evolutionary Biology

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“…Here, we considered only the size of eumelanic spots, since the hypothesis about a link between daily variation in body mass and the size of spots measured in the two parents holds for this trait only. Spot size is strongly heritable (h 2 = 0.82, Roulin et al ., ) and about 27% of the between‐individual variation is explained by genes located on the Z sex chromosome and 44% by genes located on the autosomes (Larsen et al ., ). The between nest variance in spot size is 0.72 and the within nest variances 1.04 indicating that the variance between the individuals within the same nest may be even bigger than the variance of the mean of the nests.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Signalling value of maternal and paternal melanism in the barn owl: implication for the resolution of the lek paradox

Almasi

Roulin

2015

Biol J Linn Soc Lond

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Secondary sexual characters often signal qualities such as physiological processes associated with resistance to various sources of stress. When the expression of an ornament is not sex‐limited, we can identify the costs and benefits of displaying a trait that is typical of its own sex or of the other sex. Indeed, the magnitude and sign of the covariation between physiology and the extent to which an ornament is expressed could differ between males and females if, for instance, the regulation of physiological processes is sensitive to sex hormones. Using data collected over 14 years in the nocturnal barn owl Tyto alba, we investigated how nestling body mass covaries with a heritable melanin‐based sex‐trait, females displaying on average larger black feather spots than males. Independently of nestling sex, year and time of the day large‐spotted nestlings were heavier than small‐spotted nestlings. In contrast, the magnitude and sign of the covariation between nestling body mass and the size of parental spots varied along the day in a way that depended on the year and parental gender. In poor years, offspring of smaller‐spotted mothers were heavier throughout the resting period; in the morning, offspring sired by larger‐spotted fathers were heavier than offspring of smaller‐spotted fathers, while in the evening the opposite pattern was found. Thus, maternal and paternal coloration is differentially associated with behaviour or physiology, processes that are sensitive to time of the day and environmental factors. Interestingly, the covariation between offspring body mass and paternal coloration is more sensitive to these environmental factors than the covariation with maternal coloration. This indicates that the benefit of pairing with differently spotted males may depend on environmental conditions, which could help maintain genetic variation in the face of intense directional (sexual) selection. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 115, 376–390.

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“…However, the large majority of studies in wild populations estimate additive genetic (co)variances while assuming only autosomal inheritance (Charmantier et al , 2014). Recent investigations on colour variation have revealed Z-linked genetic variance in the collared flycatcher Ficedulla albicollis (explaining 40% of total phenotypic variance in wing patch size; Husby et al , 2013), the barn owl Tyto alba (30% of variance in eumelanic spot diameter; Larsen et al , 2014) and W-linked genetic variance in the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata (2.6% of variance in beak colouration; Evans et al , 2014). In many other cases however, investigations show no evidence for sex-linked genetic variance in colour ornamentation (for example, the Florida scrub-jay Aphelocoma coerulescens ; Tringali et al , 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colour ornamentation in the blue tit: quantitative genetic (co)variances across sexes

Charmantier

Wolak²,

Grégoire

et al. 2016

Heredity

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Although secondary sexual traits are commonly more developed in males than females, in many animal species females also display elaborate ornaments or weaponry. Indirect selection on correlated traits in males and/or direct sexual or social selection in females are hypothesized to drive the evolution and maintenance of female ornaments. Yet, the relative roles of these evolutionary processes remain unidentified, because little is known about the genetic correlation that might exist between the ornaments of both sexes, and few estimates of sex-specific autosomal or sex-linked genetic variances are available. In this study, we used two wild blue tit populations with 9 years of measurements on two colour ornaments: one structurally based (blue crown) and one carotenoid based (yellow chest). We found significant autosomal heritability for the chromatic part of the structurally based colouration in both sexes, whereas carotenoid chroma was heritable only in males, and the achromatic part of both colour patches was mostly non heritable. Power limitations, which are probably common among most data sets collected so far in wild populations, prevented estimation of sex-linked genetic variance. Bivariate analyses revealed very strong cross-sex genetic correlations in all heritable traits, although the strength of these correlations was not related to the level of sexual dimorphism. In total, our results suggest that males and females share a majority of their genetic variation underlying colour ornamentation, and hence the evolution of these sex-specific traits may depend greatly on correlated responses to selection in the opposite sex.

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On estimation and identifiability issues of sex‐linked inheritance with a case study of pigmentation in Swiss barn owl (Tyto alba)

Cited by 17 publications

References 53 publications

Sex‐linked inheritance, genetic correlations and sexual dimorphism in three melanin‐based colour traits in the barn owl

Sex‐linked inheritance, genetic correlations and sexual dimorphism in three melanin‐based colour traits in the barn owl

Signalling value of maternal and paternal melanism in the barn owl: implication for the resolution of the lek paradox

Colour ornamentation in the blue tit: quantitative genetic (co)variances across sexes

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