Genetics of adaptation: Experimental test of a biotic mechanism driving divergence in traits and genes.

ABSTRACT: The genes underlying adaptations are becoming known, yet the causes of selection on genes-a key step in the study of the genetics of adaptation-remains uncertain. We address this issue experimentally in a threespine stickleback species pair showing exaggerated divergence in bony defensive armor in association with competition-driven character displacement. We used semi-natural ponds to test the role of a native predator in causing divergent evolution of armor and two known underlying genes. Predator presence/absence altered selection on dorsal spines and allele frequencies at the Msx2a gene across a generation. Evolutionary trajectories of alleles at a second gene, Pitx1, and the pelvic spine trait it controls, were more variable. Our experiment demonstrates how manipulation of putative se

SUBMITTER: Rennison DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6791182 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature