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Polymorphisms in a desaturase 2 ortholog associate with cuticular hydrocarbon and male mating success variation in a natural population of Drosophila serrata
Author(s) -
IvoryChurch J.,
Frentiu F. D.,
Chenoweth S. F.
Publication year - 2015
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/jeb.12679
Subject(s) - biology , genetics , single nucleotide polymorphism , minor allele frequency , genetic variation , population , allele , sexual selection , locus (genetics) , allele frequency , reproductive success , natural selection , evolutionary biology , gene , genotype , demography , sociology
Elucidating the nature of genetic variation underlying both sexually selected traits and the fitness components of sexual selection is essential to understanding the broader consequences of sexual selection as an evolutionary process. To date, there have been relatively few attempts to connect the genetic variance in sexually selected traits with segregating DNA sequence polymorphisms. We set out to address this in a well‐characterized sexual selection system – the cuticular hydrocarbons ( CHC s) of Drosophila serrata – using an indirect association study design that allowed simultaneous estimation of the genetic variance in CHC s, sexual fitness and single nucleotide polymorphism ( SNP ) effects in an outbred population. We cloned and sequenced an ortholog of the D. melanogaster desaturase 2 gene, previously shown to affect CHC biosynthesis in D. melanogaster , and associated 36 SNP s with minor allele frequencies > 0.02 with variance in CHC s and sexual fitness. Three SNP s had significant multivariate associations with CHC phenotype ( q ‐value < 0.05). At these loci, minor alleles had multivariate effects on CHC s that were weakly associated with the multivariate direction of sexual selection operating on these traits. Two of these SNP s had pleiotropic associations with male mating success, suggesting these variants may underlie responses to sexual selection due to this locus. There were 15 significant male mating success associations ( q ‐value < 0.1), and interestingly, we detected a nonrandom pattern in the relationship between allele frequency and direction of effect on male mating success. The minor‐frequency allele usually reduced male mating success, suggesting a positive association between male mating success and total fitness at this locus.