Genetics of ecological divergence during speciation

Matthew E. Arnegard (), Matthew D. McGee, Blake Matthews, Kerry B. Marchinko, Gina L. Conte, Sahriar Kabir, Nicole Bedford, Sara Bergek, Yingguang Frank Chan, Felicity C. Jones, David M. Kingsley, Catherine L. Peichel and Dolph Schluter
Additional contact information
Matthew E. Arnegard: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA
Matthew D. McGee: University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA
Blake Matthews: EAWAG, Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeochemistry, Seestrasse 79, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
Kerry B. Marchinko: University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
Gina L. Conte: University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
Sahriar Kabir: University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
Nicole Bedford: University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
Sara Bergek: Uppsala University, Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Norbyvägen 18D, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden
Yingguang Frank Chan: Stanford University School of Medicine, 279 Campus Drive
Felicity C. Jones: Stanford University School of Medicine, 279 Campus Drive
David M. Kingsley: Stanford University School of Medicine, 279 Campus Drive
Catherine L. Peichel: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA
Dolph Schluter: University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada

Nature, 2014, vol. 511, issue 7509, 307-311

Abstract: Abstract Ecological differences often evolve early in speciation as divergent natural selection drives adaptation to distinct ecological niches, leading ultimately to reproductive isolation. Although this process is a major generator of biodiversity, its genetic basis is still poorly understood. Here we investigate the genetic architecture of niche differentiation in a sympatric species pair of threespine stickleback fish by mapping the environment-dependent effects of phenotypic traits on hybrid feeding and performance under semi-natural conditions. We show that multiple, unlinked loci act largely additively to determine position along the major niche axis separating these recently diverged species. We also find that functional mismatch between phenotypic traits reduces the growth of some stickleback hybrids beyond that expected from an intermediate phenotype, suggesting a role for epistasis between the underlying genes. This functional mismatch might lead to hybrid incompatibilities that are analogous to those underlying intrinsic reproductive isolation but depend on the ecological context.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/nature13301

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