Polygenic basis for adaptive morphological variation in a threatened Aotearoa | New Zealand bird, the hihi (Notiomystis cincta).

ABSTRACT: To predict if a threatened species can adapt to changing selective pressures, it is crucial to understand the genetic basis of adaptive traits, especially in species historically affected by severe bottlenecks. We estimated the heritability of three hihi (Notiomystis cincta) morphological traits known to be under selection (nestling tarsus length, body mass and head-bill length) using 523 individuals and 39 699 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from a 50 K Affymetrix SNP chip. We then examined the genetic architecture of the traits via chromosome partitioning analyses and genome-wide association scans (GWAS). Heritabilities estimated using pedigree relatedness or genomic relatedness were low. For tarsus length, the proportion of genetic variance explained by each chromosome was

SUBMITTER: Duntsch L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7482260 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature