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Genomic architecture of gapeworm resistance in a natural bird population
Author(s) -
RuizLópez María José
Publication year - 2020
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.15619
Subject(s) - biology , genetic architecture , metapopulation , dominance (genetics) , genome , evolutionary biology , natural selection , genomics , population , genetics , quantitative trait locus , gene , biological dispersal , demography , sociology
Parasites are recognized to be some of the strongest agents of natural selection, sometimes causing major changes in the phenotypes of their hosts. Understanding the genomic determinants leading to these adaptive processes is key to understand host–parasite interactions. However, dissecting the genetic architecture of host resistance in natural systems is difficult because of the multiple factors affecting these complex traits in the wild. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Lundregan et al. (2020) use an impressive long‐term data set to analyse the genomic architecture of host resistance to gapeworm in a metapopulation of house sparrows. The authors elegantly combine different approaches (variance component analyses, genome partitioning and genome‐wide associations) to reveal that resistance to gapeworm is under polygenic control and can have both a significant additive genetic and dominance variance. This study is one of the first to simultaneously determine genomic architecture and assess additive genetic and dominance genetic variance in parasite resistance in natural populations.