Genetics and evidence for balancing selection of a sex-linked colour polymorphism in a songbird

Kang-Wook Kim (), Benjamin C. Jackson, Hanyuan Zhang, David P. L. Toews, Scott A. Taylor, Emma I. Greig, Irby J. Lovette, Mengning M. Liu, Angus Davison, Simon C. Griffith, Kai Zeng () and Terry Burke ()
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Kang-Wook Kim: University of Sheffield
Benjamin C. Jackson: University of Sheffield
Hanyuan Zhang: University of Sheffield
David P. L. Toews: Cornell University
Scott A. Taylor: Cornell University
Emma I. Greig: Cornell University
Irby J. Lovette: Cornell University
Mengning M. Liu: University of Nottingham
Angus Davison: University of Nottingham
Simon C. Griffith: Macquarie University
Kai Zeng: University of Sheffield
Terry Burke: University of Sheffield

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Colour polymorphisms play a key role in sexual selection and speciation, yet the mechanisms that generate and maintain them are not fully understood. Here, we use genomic and transcriptomic tools to identify the precise genetic architecture and evolutionary history of a sex-linked colour polymorphism in the Gouldian finch Erythrura gouldiae that is also accompanied by remarkable differences in behaviour and physiology. We find that differences in colour are associated with an ~72-kbp region of the Z chromosome in a putative regulatory region for follistatin, an antagonist of the TGF-β superfamily genes. The region is highly differentiated between morphs, unlike the rest of the genome, yet we find no evidence that an inversion is involved in maintaining the distinct haplotypes. Coalescent simulations confirm that there is elevated nucleotide diversity and an excess of intermediate frequency alleles at this locus. We conclude that this pleiotropic colour polymorphism is most probably maintained by balancing selection.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09806-6

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