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A chromosomal inversion contributes to divergence in multiple traits between deer mouse ecotypes.

ABSTRACT: How locally adapted ecotypes are established and maintained within a species is a long-standing question in evolutionary biology. Using forest and prairie ecotypes of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), we characterized the genetic basis of variation in two defining traits-tail length and coat color-and discovered a 41-megabase chromosomal inversion linked to both. The inversion frequency is 90% in the dark, long-tailed forest ecotype; decreases across a habitat transition; and is absent from the light, short-tailed prairie ecotype. We implicate divergent selection in maintaining the inversion at frequencies observed in the wild, despite high levels of gene flow, and explore fitness benefits that arise from suppressed recombination within the inversion. We uncover a key role for a large, previously uncharacterized inversion in the evolution and maintenance of classic mammalian ecotypes.

SUBMITTER: Hager ER

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9571565 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A chromosomal inversion contributes to divergence in multiple traits between deer mouse ecotypes.

Hager Emily R ER Harringmeyer Olivia S OS Wooldridge T Brock TB Theingi Shunn S Gable Jacob T JT McFadden Sade S Neugeboren Beverly B Turner Kyle M KM Jensen Jeffrey D JD Hoekstra Hopi E HE

Science (New York, N.Y.) 20220721 6604

How locally adapted ecotypes are established and maintained within a species is a long-standing question in evolutionary biology. Using forest and prairie ecotypes of deer mice (<i>Peromyscus maniculatus</i>), we characterized the genetic basis of variation in two defining traits-tail length and coat color-and discovered a 41-megabase chromosomal inversion linked to both. The inversion frequency is 90% in the dark, long-tailed forest ecotype; decreases across a habitat transition; and is absent ...[more]

PMID: 35862520

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Project description:Due to their worldwide distribution and occupancy of different types of environments, bottlenose dolphins display considerable morphological variation. Despite limited understanding about the taxonomic identity of such forms and connectivity among them at global scale, coastal (or inshore) and offshore (or oceanic) ecotypes have been widely recognized in several ocean regions. In the Southwest Atlantic Ocean (SWA), however, there are scarce records of bottlenose dolphins differing in external morphology according to habitat preferences that resemble the coastal-offshore pattern observed elsewhere. The main aim of this study was to analyze the genetic variability, and test for population structure between coastal (n = 127) and offshore (n = 45) bottlenose dolphins sampled in the SWA to assess whether their external morphological distinction is consistent with genetic differentiation. We used a combination of mtDNA control region sequences and microsatellite genotypes to infer population structure and levels of genetic diversity. Our results from both molecular marker types were congruent and revealed strong levels of structuring (microsatellites FST = 0.385, p < .001; mtDNA FST = 0.183, p < .001; ΦST = 0.385, p < .001) and much lower genetic diversity in the coastal than the offshore ecotype, supporting patterns found in previous studies elsewhere. Despite the opportunity for gene flow in potential "contact zones", we found minimal current and historical connectivity between ecotypes, suggesting they are following discrete evolutionary trajectories. Based on our molecular findings, which seem to be consistent with morphological differentiations recently described for bottlenose dolphins in our study area, we recommend recognizing the offshore bottlenose dolphin ecotype as an additional Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) in the SWA. Implications of these results for the conservation of bottlenose dolphins in SWA are also discussed.

Dataset Information

A chromosomal inversion contributes to divergence in multiple traits between deer mouse ecotypes.

Publications

A chromosomal inversion contributes to divergence in multiple traits between deer mouse ecotypes.

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