Dataset Information

Sequence polymorphism in candidate genes for differences in winter plumage between Scottish and Scandinavian Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Population variation in the degree of seasonal polymorphism is rare in birds, and the genetic basis of this phenomenon remains largely undescribed. Both sexes of Scandinavian and Scottish Willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) display marked differences in their winter phenotypes, with Scottish grouse retaining a pigmented plumage year-round and Scandinavian Willow grouse molting to a white morph during winter. A widely studied pathway implicated in vertebrate pigmentation is the melanin system, for which functional variation has been characterised in many taxa.

Methodology/principal findings

We sequenced coding regions from four genes involved in melanin pigmentation (DCT, MC1R, TYR and TYRP1), and an additional control involved in the melanocortin pathway (AGRP), to investigate the genetic basis of winter plumage in Lagopus. Despite the well documented role of the melanin system in animal coloration, we found no plumage-associated polymorphism or evidence for selection in a total of approximately 2.6 kb analysed sequence.

Conclusions/significance

Our results indicate that the genetic basis of alternating between pigmented and unpigmented seasonal phenotypes is more likely explained by regulatory changes controlling the expression of these or other loci in the physiological pathway leading to pigmentation.

SUBMITTER: Skoglund P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2859059 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Sequence polymorphism in candidate genes for differences in winter plumage between Scottish and Scandinavian Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus).

Skoglund Pontus P Höglund Jacob J

PloS one 20100423 4

<h4>Background</h4>Population variation in the degree of seasonal polymorphism is rare in birds, and the genetic basis of this phenomenon remains largely undescribed. Both sexes of Scandinavian and Scottish Willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) display marked differences in their winter phenotypes, with Scottish grouse retaining a pigmented plumage year-round and Scandinavian Willow grouse molting to a white morph during winter. A widely studied pathway implicated in vertebrate pigmentation is the mel ...[more]

PMID: 20428241

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThere is so far very little data on autosomal nucleotide diversity in birds, except for data from the domesticated chicken and some passerines species. Estimates of nucleotide diversity reported so far in birds have been high (approximately 10(-3)) and a likely explanation for this is the generally higher effective population sizes compared to mammals. In this study, the level of nucleotide diversity has been examined in the willow grouse, a non-domesticated bird species from the order Galliformes, which also holds the chicken. The willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) has an almost circumpolar distribution but is absent from Greenland and the north Atlantic islands. It primarily inhabits tundra, forest edge habitats and sub-alpine vegetation. Willow grouse are hunted throughout its range, and regionally it is a game bird of great cultural and economical importance.ResultsWe sequenced 18 autosomal protein coding loci from approximately 15-18 individuals per population. We found a total of 127 SNP's, which corresponds to 1 SNP every 51 bp. 26 SNP's were amino acid replacement substitutions. Total nucleotide diversity (pit) was between 1.30 x 10(-4) and 7.66 x 10(-3) (average pi(t) = 2.72 x 10(-3) +/- 2.06 x 10(-3)) and silent nucleotide diversity varied between 4.20 x 10(-4) and 2.76 x 10(-2) (average pi(S) = 9.22 x 10(-3) +/- 7.43 x 10(-4)). The synonymous diversity is approximately 20 times higher than in humans and two times higher than in chicken. Non-synonymous diversity was on average 18 times lower than the synonymous diversity and varied between 0 and 4.90 x 10(-3) (average pi(a) = 5.08 x 10(-4) +/- 7.43 x 10(3)), which suggest that purifying selection is strong in these genes. F(ST) values based on synonymous SNP's varied between -5.60 x 10(-4) and 0.20 among loci and revealed low levels of differentiation among the four localities, with an overall value of F(ST) = 0.03 (95% CI: 0.006 - 0.057) over 60 unlinked loci. Non-synonymous SNP's gave similar results. Low levels of linkage disequilibrium were observed within genes, with an average r2 = 0.084 +/- 0.110, which is expected for a large outbred population with no population differentiation. The mean per site per generation recombination parameter (rho) was comparably high (0.028 +/- 0.018), indicating high recombination rates in these genes.ConclusionWe found unusually high levels of nucleotide diversity in the Scandinavian willow grouse as well as very little population structure among localities with up to 1647 km distance. There are also low levels of linkage disequilibrium within the genes and the population recombination rate is high, which is indicative of an old panmictic population, where recombination has had time to break up any haplotype blocks. The non-synonymous nucleotide diversity is low compared with the silent, which is in agreement with effective purifying selection, possibly due to the large effective population size.

Dataset Information

Sequence polymorphism in candidate genes for differences in winter plumage between Scottish and Scandinavian Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus).

Background

Methodology/principal findings

Conclusions/significance

Publications

Sequence polymorphism in candidate genes for differences in winter plumage between Scottish and Scandinavian Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus).

Similar Datasets

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