An oligogenic architecture underlying ecological and reproductive divergence in sympatric populations.

ABSTRACT: The evolutionary trajectories and genetic architectures underlying ecological divergence with gene flow are poorly understood. Sympatric timing types of the intertidal insect Clunio marinus (Diptera) from Roscoff (France) differ in lunar reproductive timing. One type reproduces at full moon, the other at new moon, controlled by a circalunar clock of yet unknown molecular nature. Lunar reproductive timing is a magic trait for a sympatric speciation process, as it is both ecologically relevant and entails assortative mating. Here, we show that the difference in reproductive timing is controlled by at least four quantitative trait loci (QTL) on three different chromosomes. They are partly associated with complex inversions, but differentiation of the inversion haplotypes cannot explain

SUBMITTER: Brisevac D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9977317 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature