Standing genetic variation in a tissue-specific enhancer underlies selfing-syndrome evolution in Capsella.

ABSTRACT: Mating system shifts recurrently drive specific changes in organ dimensions. The shift in mating system from out-breeding to selfing is one of the most frequent evolutionary transitions in flowering plants and is often associated with an organ-specific reduction in flower size. However, the evolutionary paths along which polygenic traits, such as size, evolve are poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear how natural selection can specifically modulate the size of one organ despite the pleiotropic action of most known growth regulators. Here, we demonstrate that allelic variation in the intron of a general growth regulator contributed to the specific reduction of petal size after the transition to selfing in the genus Capsella Variation within this intron affects an organ-specific enh

SUBMITTER: Sicard A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5137693 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature