TY - JOUR
T1 - Convergent melanism in populations of a Solomon Island flycatcher is mediated by unique genetic mechanisms
AU - Uy, J. Albert C.
AU - Cooper, Elizabeth A.
AU - Chaves, Jaime A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Permission to work in the Solomon Islands was granted by the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management & Meteorology. For assistance with field logistics, we thank the Murray family and Jerry Tuari of Kirakira, and the people of Moie Island, Russell Islands. We especially thank Lonsdale Taka, James Suafuria, George Wabeasi and Shoti Marau for excellent field assistance. We thank William Hulme and the staff of the Hussman Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Miami for performing the RAD sequencing for this study. We also thank the University of Miami Center for Computational Science and the Clemson Computing and Information Technology Center for providing many of the computing resources used in our analyses. This work was funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER award (1137624), a National Geographic Society CRE grant (9023-11), and the Aresty Chair in Tropical Ecology.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Geographic Society [9023-11]; National Science Foundation (USA) [1137624].
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Geographic Society [9023-11]; National Science Foundation (USA) [1137624]. Permission to work in the Solomon Islands was granted by the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management & Meteorology. For assistance with field logistics, we thank the Murray family and Jerry Tuari of Kirakira, and the people of Moie Island, Russell Islands. We especially thank Lonsdale Taka, James Suafuria, George Wabeasi and Shoti Marau for excellent field assistance. We thank William Hulme and the staff of the Hussman Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Miami for performing the RAD sequencing for this study. We also thank the University of Miami Center for Computational Science and the Clemson Computing and Information Technology Center for providing many of the computing resources used in our analyses. This work was funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER award (1137624), a National Geographic Society CRE grant (9023-11), and the Aresty Chair in Tropical Ecology.
PY - 2019/7/3
Y1 - 2019/7/3
N2 - Parallel selection pressures in independent taxa can lead to the evolution of the same phenotype, but whether selection acts on the same molecular mechanisms may depend on the genetic biases of the convergent trait. For example, despite hundreds of genes known to regulate pigmentation, the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) is repeatedly implicated in convergent colour evolution in vertebrates, suggesting MC1R is a biased target of colour change. Taking advantage of the variable Monarcha castaneiventris complex, we explore whether similarity in plumage colour among populations is due to convergence, and whether this trait is mediated by the same genetic changes. Populations of M. castaneiventris comprise taxa that have diversified in colour, including two subspecies, M. c. ugiensis and M. c. obscurior, having entirely black or melanic plumage. Our previous work suggests that two populations of M. c. ugiensis have evolved melanism independently through point mutations in MC1R or in Agouti Signalling Protein, the reverse agonist of MC1R. Under a phylogenetic framework, we find that melanism in M. c. obscurior and M. c. ugiensis evolved independently within the past 500 000 years. Further, a combination of candidate gene and reduced representation sequencing approaches failed to detect mutations that predict colour in M. c. obscurior; however, we find that the melanic mutations from M. c. ugiensis were absent in M. c. obscurior. Our results suggest that melanism can evolve rapidly among independent populations, and that convergent melanism can be mediated by unique mutations, including within young clades that share genetic architectures.
AB - Parallel selection pressures in independent taxa can lead to the evolution of the same phenotype, but whether selection acts on the same molecular mechanisms may depend on the genetic biases of the convergent trait. For example, despite hundreds of genes known to regulate pigmentation, the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) is repeatedly implicated in convergent colour evolution in vertebrates, suggesting MC1R is a biased target of colour change. Taking advantage of the variable Monarcha castaneiventris complex, we explore whether similarity in plumage colour among populations is due to convergence, and whether this trait is mediated by the same genetic changes. Populations of M. castaneiventris comprise taxa that have diversified in colour, including two subspecies, M. c. ugiensis and M. c. obscurior, having entirely black or melanic plumage. Our previous work suggests that two populations of M. c. ugiensis have evolved melanism independently through point mutations in MC1R or in Agouti Signalling Protein, the reverse agonist of MC1R. Under a phylogenetic framework, we find that melanism in M. c. obscurior and M. c. ugiensis evolved independently within the past 500 000 years. Further, a combination of candidate gene and reduced representation sequencing approaches failed to detect mutations that predict colour in M. c. obscurior; however, we find that the melanic mutations from M. c. ugiensis were absent in M. c. obscurior. Our results suggest that melanism can evolve rapidly among independent populations, and that convergent melanism can be mediated by unique mutations, including within young clades that share genetic architectures.
KW - Convergent evolution
KW - Monarcha castaneiventris
KW - Solomon Islands
KW - melanism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062776661&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85062776661&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01584197.2019.1586446
DO - 10.1080/01584197.2019.1586446
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85062776661
VL - 119
SP - 242
EP - 250
JO - Emu
JF - Emu
SN - 0158-4197
IS - 3
ER -