Candidate genes for colour and vision exhibit signals of selection across the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) breeding range.

ABSTRACT: The role of natural selection in shaping adaptive trait differentiation in natural populations has long been recognized. Determining its molecular basis, however, remains a challenge. Here, we search for signals of selection in candidate genes for colour and its perception in a passerine bird. Pied flycatcher plumage varies geographically in both its structural and pigment-based properties. Both characteristics appear to be shaped by selection. A single-locus outlier test revealed 2 of 14 loci to show significantly elevated signals of divergence. The first of these, the follistatin gene, is expressed in the developing feather bud and is found in pathways with genes that determine the structure of feathers and may thus be important in generating variation in structural colouration. The seco

SUBMITTER: Lehtonen PK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3313055 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature