Longer or shorter spines: Reciprocal trait evolution in stickleback via triallelic regulatory changes in Stanniocalcin2a.

ABSTRACT: Vertebrates have repeatedly modified skeletal structures to adapt to their environments. The threespine stickleback is an excellent system for studying skeletal modifications, as different wild populations have either increased or decreased the lengths of their prominent dorsal and pelvic spines in different freshwater environments. Here we identify a regulatory locus that has a major morphological effect on the length of stickleback dorsal and pelvic spines, which we term Maser (major spine enhancer). Maser maps in a closely linked supergene complex that controls multiple armor, feeding, and behavioral traits on chromosome IV. Natural alleles in Maser are differentiated between marine and freshwater sticklebacks; however, alleles found among freshwater populations are

SUBMITTER: Roberts Kingman GA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8346906 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature