Vertebrate pigmentation: from underlying genes to adaptive function

Hubbard, Joanna K.; Uy, J. Albert C.; Hauber, Márk E.; Hoekstra, Hopi E.; Safran, Rebecca J.

doi:10.1016/j.tig.2010.02.002

Cited by 411 publications

(403 citation statements)

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“…Identifying the molecular mechanisms that underlie colour variation thus serves as a valuable means for broadening our understanding on how selection shapes genetic variation leading to evolutionary change. Recent studies of pigmentation genes in the wild have revealed that pigment gene function is much conserved across vertebrate taxa (for example, Boswell and Takeuchi, 2005) and often influences adaptive colouration in a predictable manner (reviewed by Hubbard et al, 2010). The prominent colour variation seen in the animal kingdom is primarily produced by variation in the amount and density of pigment granules in the integument (pigment-based colouration) or its structural properties (structural colouration; Andersson and Prager, 2006).…”

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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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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“…Several genes responsible for melanin-based pigmentation have been identified in vertebrates (see Hubbard et al 2010). Among them, the melanocortin system also regulates a diverse array of physiological functions, including adrenocortical steroidogenesis and anti-inflammatory responses (Cone 2006, Ducrest et al 2008.…”

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confidence: 99%

Wing whiteness as an indicator of age, immunocompetence, and testis size in the Eurasian Black-Billed Magpie (Pica pica)

Blanco¹,

Fargallo²

2013

The Auk

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“…Under these conditions, the expectations are clear-with larger numbers of mutational targets and a reduced power of random genetic drift, the rate of adaptation will increase with population size, although more slowly than expected under the assumption of sequential fixation (12,13). The motivation for these models, which are specifically focused on total organismal fitness, derives from case studies of adaptations with apparently simple genetic bases, e.g., some aspects of insecticide resistance (14), skin pigmentation (15), and skeletal morphology in vertebrates (16).…”

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Scaling expectations for the time to establishment of complex adaptations

Lynch

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Although the vast majority of research in evolutionary biology is focused on adaption, a general theory for the population-genetic mechanisms by which complex adaptations are acquired remains to be developed. The issue explored here is the procurement of novel traits that specifically require multiple mutations to achieve a fitness advantage. By highlighting the roles played by the forces of mutation, recombination, and random genetic drift, and drawing from observations on the joint constraints on these factors, the ways in which rates of acquisition of specific types of adaptations scale with population size are explored. These general results provide insight into a number of ongoing controversies regarding the molecular basis of adaptation, including the adaptive utility of recombination and the role of drift in the passage through adaptive valleys.adaptive evolution | complex traits | evolutionary rate | molecular evolution | recombination R ecent empirical observations imply that approximate scaling laws exist for several fundamental evolutionary forces (1-3). First, across the full domain of life, there is an inverse relationship between population density and organism size. This relationship bears importantly on the power of random genetic drift, which is expected to scale negatively (although not necessarily linearly) with total population size (4). Second, the recombination rate per physical distance on chromosomes scales inversely with genome size. This feature is a simple consequence of an apparent structural constraint across all sexually reproducing eukaryotes-the occurrence of approximately one crossover event per chromosome arm per meiosis, and the fact that most variation in genome size is associated with variation in chromosome size rather than chromosome number. Finally, the mutation rate per nucleotide site per generation scales negatively with the genetic effective size of a population, possibly because lineages more vulnerable to random genetic drift are less efficient at maintaining high-fidelity replication/repair machinery (3, 5). The fact that all three of these nonadaptive forces of evolution influence the efficiency of selection raises the question as to whether general scaling laws also exist for the exploitation of various pathways to adaptive evolution.The development of theory in this area is rendered difficult by the multidimensional nature of the problem. One strategy has been to ignore all deleterious mutations and to assume that selection is strong enough and mutation weak enough relative to the power of random genetic drift and recombination that evolution always proceeds by the sequential fixation of single mutations (e.g., refs. 6-11). Such an approach provides a useful entree into the evolutionary dynamics of rare adaptive mutations with large effects. Under these conditions, the expectations are clear-with larger numbers of mutational targets and a reduced power of random genetic drift, the rate of adaptation will increase with population size, although more slowly than ex...

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Vertebrate pigmentation: from underlying genes to adaptive function

Cited by 411 publications

References 89 publications

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

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

Wing whiteness as an indicator of age, immunocompetence, and testis size in the Eurasian Black-Billed Magpie (Pica pica)

Scaling expectations for the time to establishment of complex adaptations

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