A Chromosome Inversion Creates a Supergene for Sex and Colour in Lake Malawi Cichlids.

ABSTRACT: Cichlid fishes have the highest rates of evolutionary turnover of sex chromosomes among vertebrates. Many large structural polymorphisms in the radiation of cichlids in Lake Malawi are associated with sex chromosomes and may also carry adaptive variation. Here, we investigate the structure and evolutionary history of an inversion polymorphism that includes both a ZW sex locus and an orange-blotch colour polymorphism in the rock-dwelling cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi. We use long-read sequencing to characterise the sequence and breakpoints of the inversion. We quantify allele frequency differences across the inversion in population samples of the genera Metriaclima and Labeotropheus. We also examine expression differences of genes in the inversion. The simple inversion spans 7 Mb and is fla

SUBMITTER: Behrens KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12530302 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature