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Enbody ED, Sendell-Price AT, Sprehn CG, Rubin C, Visscher PM, Grant BR, Grant PR, Andersson L
Science 381 (6665) eadf6218 [2023-09-29; online 2023-09-29]
A fundamental goal in evolutionary biology is to understand the genetic architecture of adaptive traits. Using whole-genome data of 3955 of Darwin's finches on the Galápagos Island of Daphne Major, we identified six loci of large effect that explain 45% of the variation in the highly heritable beak size of Geospiza fortis, a key ecological trait. The major locus is a supergene comprising four genes. Abrupt changes in allele frequencies at the loci accompanied a strong change in beak size caused by natural selection during a drought. A gradual change in Geospiza scandens occurred across 30 years as a result of introgressive hybridization with G. fortis. This study shows how a few loci with large effect on a fitness-related trait contribute to the genetic potential for rapid adaptive radiation.
Bioinformatics Support for Computational Resources [Service]
NGI Uppsala (SNP&SEQ Technology Platform) [Service]
NGI Uppsala (Uppsala Genome Center) [Service]
National Genomics Infrastructure [Service]
PubMed 37769091
DOI 10.1126/science.adf6218
Crossref 10.1126/science.adf6218