Two developmentally temporal quantitative trait loci underlie convergent evolution of increased branchial bone length in sticklebacks.

ABSTRACT: In convergent evolution, similar phenotypes evolve repeatedly in independent populations, often reflecting adaptation to similar environments. Understanding whether convergent evolution proceeds via similar or different genetic and developmental mechanisms offers insight towards the repeatability and predictability of evolution. Oceanic populations of threespine stickleback fish, Gasterosteus aculeatus, have repeatedly colonized countless freshwater lakes and streams, where new diets lead to morphological adaptations related to feeding. Here, we show that heritable increases in branchial bone length have convergently evolved in two independently derived freshwater stickleback populations. In both populations, an increased bone growth rate in juveniles underlies the convergent adult phenoty

SUBMITTER: Erickson PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4083797 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature