A supergene-linked estrogen receptor drives alternative phenotypes in a polymorphic songbird.

ABSTRACT: Behavioral evolution relies on genetic changes, yet few behaviors can be traced to specific genetic sequences in vertebrates. Here we provide experimental evidence showing that differentiation of a single gene has contributed to the evolution of divergent behavioral phenotypes in the white-throated sparrow, a common backyard songbird. In this species, a series of chromosomal inversions has formed a supergene that segregates with an aggressive phenotype. The supergene has captured ESR1, the gene that encodes estrogen receptor α (ERα); as a result, this gene is accumulating changes that now distinguish the supergene allele from the standard allele. Our results show that in birds of the more aggressive phenotype, ERα knockdown caused a phenotypic change to that of the less aggressive p

SUBMITTER: Merritt JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7474689 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature