Balancing selection maintains intraspecific diversity in a deep-sea fish.

ABSTRACT: Segregating alleles in natural populations can be driven to fixation or loss by genetic drift or directional selection, or may be maintained in a polymorphic state by balancing selection. Balancing selection in a panmictic population is theoretically well established, but not widely understood at the molecular level. In this study, we focus on the evolutionary processes affecting non-synonymous variants at eight functionally relevant loci (based on candidate SNP genotyping) in a deep-sea fish species (Coryphaenoides rupestris) that lives across habitat zones ranging from ~200 m to ~2000 m depth. At each of these loci, one allele is predominant in the deeper water. Across a shallower depth range, we find that minor allele frequencies show a highly significant increase or decline progressive

SUBMITTER: Hoelzel AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12811240 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature