From genotype to phenotype: Genetic redundancy and the maintenance of an adaptive polymorphism in the context of high gene flow.

ABSTRACT: A central question in evolution is how several adaptive phenotypes are maintained within a species. Theory predicts that the genetic determination of a trait, and in particular the amounts of redundancy in the mapping of genotypes to phenotypes, mediates evolutionary outcomes of phenotypic selection. In Mediterranean wild thyme, numerous discrete chemical phenotypes (chemotypes) occur in close geographic proximity. Chemotypes are defined by the predominant monoterpene produced by individual plants in their essential oil. In this study, we analyze the ecological genetics of six chemotypes nested within two well-established chemical families (hereafter ecotypes). Ecotypes, and chemotypes within ecotypes, are spatially segregated, and their distributions track local differences in the abiotic

SUBMITTER: Bataillon T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8966474 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature