Author
Listed:
- Yann Le Poul
(CNRS UMR 7205, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle)
- Annabel Whibley
(CNRS UMR 7205, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle)
- Mathieu Chouteau
(CNRS UMR 7205, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle)
- Florence Prunier
(CNRS UMR 7205, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle)
- Violaine Llaurens
(CNRS UMR 7205, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle)
- Mathieu Joron
(CNRS UMR 7205, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle)
Abstract
Genetic dominance in polymorphic loci may respond to selection; however, the evolution of dominance in complex traits remains a puzzle. We analyse dominance at a wing-patterning supergene controlling local mimicry polymorphism in the butterfly Heliconius numata. Supergene alleles are associated with chromosomal inversion polymorphism, defining ancestral versus derived alleles. Using controlled crosses and the new procedure, Colour Pattern Modelling, allowing whole-wing pattern comparisons, we estimate dominance coefficients between alleles. Here we show strict dominance in sympatry favouring mimicry and inconsistent dominance throughout the wing between alleles from distant populations. Furthermore, dominance among derived alleles is uncoordinated across wing-pattern elements, producing mosaic heterozygous patterns determined by a hierarchy in colour expression. By contrast, heterozygotes with an ancestral allele show complete, coordinated dominance of the derived allele, independently of colours. Therefore, distinct dominance mechanisms have evolved in association with supergene inversions, in response to strong selection on mimicry polymorphism.
Suggested Citation
Yann Le Poul & Annabel Whibley & Mathieu Chouteau & Florence Prunier & Violaine Llaurens & Mathieu Joron, 2014.
"Evolution of dominance mechanisms at a butterfly mimicry supergene,"
Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
Handle:
RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms6644
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6644
Download full text from publisher
Corrections
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms6644. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through
the various RePEc services.