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Enantiomorphs differ in shape in opposite directions between populations
Author(s) -
NAKADERA Y.,
SUTCHARIT C.,
UBUKATA T.,
SEKI K.,
UTSUNO H.,
PANHA S.,
ASAMI T.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02099.x
Subject(s) - biology , pleiotropy , evolutionary biology , polarity (international relations) , sinistral and dextral , population , constraint (computer aided design) , adaptation (eye) , polygene , genetics , gene , phenotype , neuroscience , quantitative trait locus , paleontology , demography , tectonics , sociology , cell , mechanical engineering , engineering
Development is left–right reversed between dextral and sinistral morphs of snails. In sympatry, they share the same gene pool, including polygenes for shell shape. Nevertheless, their shell shapes are not the mirror images of each other. This triggered a debate between hypotheses that argue either for a developmental constraint or for zygotic pleiotropic effects of the polarity gene. We found that dextrals can be wider or narrower than sinistrals depending on the population, contrary to the prediction of invariable deviation under a developmental constraint. If the pleiotropy is solely responsible instead, the mean shape of each morph should change, depending on the frequency of polarity genotype. Our simulations of this mean shape change under zygotic pleiotropy, however, show that the direction of interchiral difference remains the same regardless of genotype frequency. Our results suggest the presence of genetic variation among populations that changes the maternal or zygotic pleiotropic effect of the polarity gene.