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Published January 13, 2017 | Version v1
Dataset Open

Data from: A novel locus on chromosome 1 underlies the evolution of a melanic plumage polymorphism in a wild songbird

Authors/Creators

  • 1. French National Centre for Scientific Research
  • 2. Spanish National Research Council
  • 3. Montpellier SupAgro
  • 4. French National Institute for Agricultural Research
  • 5. Fujita Health University
  • 6. Paul Sabatier University
  • 7. National Taiwan University
  • 8. York University

Description

Understanding the mechanisms responsible for phenotypic diversification within and among species ultimately rests with linking naturally occurring mutations to functionally and ecologically significant traits. Colour polymorphisms are of great interest in this context because discrete colour patterns within a population are often controlled by just a few genes in a common environment. We investigated how and why phenotypic diversity arose and persists in the Zosterops borbonicus white-eye of Reunion (Mascarene archipelago), a colour polymorphic songbird in which all highland populations contain individuals belonging to either a brown or a grey plumage morph. Using extensive phenotypic and genomic data, we demonstrate that this melanin-based colour polymorphism is controlled by a single locus on chromosome 1 with two large-effect alleles, which was not previously described as affecting hair or feather colour. Differences between colour morphs appear to rely upon complex cis-regulatory variation that either prevents the synthesis of pheomelanin in grey feathers, or increases its production in brown ones. We used coalescent analyses to show that, from a 'brown' ancestral population, the dominant 'grey' allele spread quickly once it arose from a new mutation. Since colour morphs are always found in mixture, this implies that the selected allele does not go to fixation, but instead reaches an intermediate frequency, as would be expected under balancing selection.

Notes

Data for microsatellites, spectrophotometry and melanins dosage
This file contains 1) microsatellites data in GENPOP format, 2) morphometric data for birds included in the pedigree analysis, 3) Spectrophotometry measurements and 4) Results from the dosage of melanins for 12 individuals. Localities coordinates are also provided.
All_data_microsats_spectro_melanindosage.xlsx
Unfiltered VCF file for 42 individuals
SNPs calls for individual GBS data from the same three localities as in Pooled RAD-seq. Colors and localities for each individuals are provided in a separate excel file.
Highlands_dataset.recode.vcf
Information about individuals included in the GBS VCF file
Morph and localities for each individual included in the GBS study.
Localities_Morphs_individuals_VCF.xlsx

Files

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Additional details

Related works

Is cited by
10.1098/rsos.160805 (DOI)