Premium
Population genomics fits the bill: genetics of adaptive beak variation in Darwin's finches
Author(s) -
Mundy Nicholas I.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/mec.13868
Subject(s) - biology , beak , evolutionary biology , genetic variation , population , sympatric speciation , genomics , genome wide association study , population genomics , quantitative trait locus , genome , genetics , zoology , single nucleotide polymorphism , genotype , demography , sociology , gene
Darwin's finches are an iconic case of adaptive radiation. The size and shape of their beaks are key adaptive traits related to trophic niche that vary among species and evolve rapidly when the food supply changes. Building on recent studies, a paper in this issue of Molecular Ecology (Chaves et al . [Chaves JA, 2016]) investigates the genomic basis of beak size variation in sympatric populations of three species of ground finch ( G eospiza ) by performing a Genome‐wide association study using RAD ‐seq data. The authors find that variation in a small number of markers can explain a substantial proportion of variation in beak size. Some of these markers are in genomic regions that have previously been implicated in beak size variation in D arwin's finches, whereas other markers have not, suggesting both conservation and divergence in the genetic basis of morphological evolution. Overall, the study confirms that loci of large effect are involved in beak size variation, which helps to explain the high heritability and rapid response to selection of this trait. The independent identification of regions containing HMGA 2 and DLK 1 loci in a GWAS makes them prime targets for functional studies. The study also shows that under the right conditions, RAD ‐seq can be a viable alternative to genome sequencing for GWAS in wild vertebrate populations.