| 1. |
- Backström, Niclas, et al.
(författare)
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A Gene-Based Genetic Linkage Map of the Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) Reveals Extensive Synteny and Gene-Order Conservation During 100 Million Years of Avian Evolution
- 2008
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Ingår i: Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0016-6731 .- 1943-2631. ; 179, s. 1479-1495
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- By taking advantage of a recently developed reference markerset for avian genome analysis we have constructed a gene-basedgenetic map of the collared flycatcher, an important "ecologicalmodel" for studies of life-history evolution, sexual selection,speciation, and quantitative genetics. A pedigree of 322 birdsfrom a natural population was genotyped for 384 single nucleotidepolymorphisms (SNPs) from 170 protein-coding genes and 71 microsatellites.Altogether, 147 gene markers and 64 microsatellites form 33linkage groups with a total genetic distance of 1787 cM. Malerecombination rates are, on average, 22% higher than femalerates (total distance 1982 vs. 1627 cM). The ability to anchorthe collared flycatcher map with the chicken genome via thegene-based SNPs revealed an extraordinary degree of both syntenyand gene-order conservation during avian evolution. The greatmajority of chicken chromosomes correspond to a single linkagegroup in collared flycatchers, with only a few cases of inter-and intrachromosomal rearrangements. The rate of chromosomaldiversification, fissions/fusions, and inversions combined isthus considerably lower in birds (0.05/MY) than in mammals (0.6–2.0/MY).A dearth of repeat elements, known to promote chromosomal breakage,in avian genomes may contribute to their stability. The degreeof genome stability is likely to have important consequencesfor general evolutionary patterns and may explain, for example,the comparatively slow rate by which genetic incompatibilityamong lineages of birds evolves.
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| 2. |
- Backström, Niclas, et al.
(författare)
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A high-density scan of the Z chromosome in ficedula flycatchers reveals candidate loci for diversifying selection
- 2010
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Ingår i: Evolution. - : Wiley. - 0014-3820 .- 1558-5646. ; 64:12, s. 3461-3475
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Theoretical and empirical data suggest that genes located on sex chromosomes may play an important role both for sexually selected traits and for traits involved in the build-up of hybrid incompatibilities. We investigated patterns of genetic variation in 73 genes located on the Z chromosomes of two species of the flycatcher genus Ficedula, the pied flycatcher and the collared flycatcher. Sequence data were evaluated for signs of selection potentially related to genomic differentiation in these young sister species, which hybridize despite reduced fitness of hybrids. Seven loci were significantly more divergent between the two species than expected under neutrality and they also displayed reduced nucleotide diversity, consistent with having been influenced by directional selection. Two of the detected candidate regions contain genes that are associated with plumage coloration in birds. Plumage characteristics play an important role in species recognition in these flycatchers suggesting that the detected genes may have been involved in the evolution of sexual isolation between the species.
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| 3. |
- Backström, Niclas, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic mapping in a natural population of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) : Conserved synteny but gene order rearrangements on the avian Z chromosome
- 2006
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Ingår i: Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0016-6731 .- 1943-2631. ; 174:1, s. 377-386
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Data from completely sequenced genomes are likely to open the way for novel studies of the genetics of nonmodel organisms, in particular when it comes to the identification and analysis of genes responsible for traits that are under selection in natural populations. Here we use the draft sequence of the chicken genome as a starting point for linkage mapping in a wild bird species, the collared flycatcher-one of the most well-studied avian species in ecological and evolutionary research. A pedigree of 365 flycatchers was established and genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms in 23 genes selected from (and spread over most of) the chicken Z chromosome. All genes were also found to be located on the Z chromosome in the collared flycatcher, confirming conserved synteny at the level of gene content across distantly related avian lineages. This high degree of conservation mimics the situation seen for the mammalian X chromosome and may thus be a general feature in sex chromosome evolution, irrespective of whether there is male or female heterogamety. Alternatively, such unprecedented chromosomal conservation may be characteristic of most chromosomes in avian genome evolution. However, several internal rearrangements were observed, meaning that the transfer of map information from chicken to nonmodel bird species cannot always assume conserved gene orders. Interestingly, the rate of recombination on the Z chromosome of collared flycatchers was only similar to 50% that of chicken, challenging the widely held view that birds generally have high recombination rates.
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| 4. |
- Backström, Niclas, et al.
(författare)
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Levels of linkage disequilibrium in a wild bird population
- 2006
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Ingår i: Biology Letters. - : The Royal Society. - 1744-9561 .- 1744-957X. ; 2:3, s. 435-438
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Population-based mapping approaches are attractive for tracing the genetic background to phenotypic traits in wild species, given that it is often difficult to gather extensive and well-defined pedigrees needed for quantitative trait locus analysis. However, the feasibility of association or hitch-hiking mapping is dependent on the degree of linkage disequilibrium. (LD) in the population, on which there is yet limited information for wild species. Here we use single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers from 23 genes in a recently established linkage map of the Z chromosome of the collared flycatcher, to study the extent of LD in a natural bird population. In most but not all cases we find SNPs within the same intron (less than 500 bp) to be in perfect LD. However, LD then decays to background level at a distance 1 cM or 400-500 kb. Although LD seems more extensive than in other species, if the observed pattern is representative for other regions of the genome and turns out to be a general feature of natural bird populations, dense marker maps might be needed for genome scans aimed at identifying association between marker and trait loci.
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| 5. |
- Backström, Niclas, et al.
(författare)
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No evidence for Z-chromosome rearrangements between the pied flycatcher and the collared flycatcher as judged by gene-based comparative genetic maps
- 2010
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 19:16, s. 3394-3405
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Revealing the genetic basis of reproductive isolation is fundamental for understanding the speciation process. Chromosome speciation models propose a role for chromosomal rearrangements in promoting the build up of reproductive isolation between diverging populations and empirical data from several animal and plant taxa support these models. The pied flycatcher and the collared flycatcher are two closely related species that probably evolved reproductive isolation during geographical separation in Pleistocene glaciation refugia. Despite the short divergence time and current hybridization, these two species demonstrate a high degree of intrinsic post-zygotic isolation and previous studies have shown that traits involved in mate choice and hybrid viability map to the Z-chromosome. Could rearrangements of the Z-chromosome between the species explain their reproductive isolation? We developed high coverage Z-chromosome linkage maps for both species, using gene-based markers and large-scale SNP genotyping. Best order maps contained 57-62 gene markers with an estimated average density of one every 1-1.5 Mb. We estimated the recombination rates in flycatcher Z-chromosomes to 1.1-1.3 cM/Mb. A comparison of the maps of the two species revealed extensive co-linearity with no strong evidence for chromosomal rearrangements. This study does therefore not provide support the idea that sex chromosome rearrangements have caused the relatively strong post-zygotic reproductive isolation between these two Ficedula species.
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| 6. |
- Bailey, Richard I., et al.
(författare)
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Female Drosophila melanogaster Gene Expression and Mate Choice : The X Chromosome Harbours Candidate Genes Underlying Sexual Isolation
- 2011
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 6:2, s. e17358-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The evolution of female choice mechanisms favouring males of their own kind is considered a crucial step during the early stages of speciation. However, although the genomics of mate choice may influence both the likelihood and speed of speciation, the identity and location of genes underlying assortative mating remain largely unknown. Methods and Findings: We used mate choice experiments and gene expression analysis of female Drosophila melanogaster to examine three key components influencing speciation. We show that the 1,498 genes in Zimbabwean female D. melanogaster whose expression levels differ when mating with more (Zimbabwean) versus less (Cosmopolitan strain) preferred males include many with high expression in the central nervous system and ovaries, are disproportionately X-linked and form a number of clusters with low recombination distance. Significant involvement of the brain and ovaries is consistent with the action of a combination of pre- and postcopulatory female choice mechanisms, while sex linkage and clustering of genes lead to high potential evolutionary rate and sheltering against the homogenizing effects of gene exchange between populations. Conclusion: Taken together our results imply favourable genomic conditions for the evolution of reproductive isolation through mate choice in Zimbabwean D. melanogaster and suggest that mate choice may, in general, act as an even more important engine of speciation than previously realized.
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| 7. |
- Bliard, Louis, et al.
(författare)
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The role of introductory alarm calls for song discrimination in Ficedula flycatchers
- 2021
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Ingår i: Animal Behaviour. - : Elsevier. - 0003-3472 .- 1095-8282. ; 177, s. 241-251
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Assortative mating depends on species distinctiveness in mating traits and preferences, which can be challenging to maintain when traits and/or preferences are learned. This is because learning may cause individuals to copy heterospecific signals. Juvenile songbirds possess innate sensory biases favouring them to learn and to prefer conspecific songs, but the effectiveness of these biases relies on consistent and sufficient differences between the songs produced by different species. However, mating signals, including learned songs, sometimes converge in sympatry, and the species-specific cues that individuals use to shape their preferences are often unknown. In Ficedula flycatchers, a stereotyped and highly species-specific alarm call is often incorporated as the first syllable of their songs. However, where the two species co-occur, pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca, learn to incorporate the introductory calls of the closely related collared flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis, into their songs. In this study, we investigated the role of introductory alarm calls for song discrimination in collared flycatchers, using playback experiments of both manipulated and unmanipulated songs on adults and nestlings within the hybrid zone of Oland, Sweden. We predicted that the introductory alarm call would be sufficient to trigger song responses, such that adults and nestlings would respond similarly to song phrases including the call, whether it is followed by conspecific or heterospecific notes. Our results provide evidence that the introductory alarm call is sufficient to trigger song discrimination in nestlings, but not in adult males, potentially due to their greater experience with songs and, therefore, subtler discrimination. Altogether, this study highlights the often-overlooked importance of calls within or associated with songs.
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| 8. |
- Boman, Jesper, et al.
(författare)
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Regulatory and evolutionary impact of DNA methylation in two songbird species and their naturally occurring F1 hybrids
- 2024
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Ingår i: BMC Biology. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1741-7007. ; 22:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Regulation of transcription by DNA methylation in 5'-CpG-3' context is a widespread mechanism allowing differential expression of genetically identical cells to persist throughout development. Consequently, differences in DNA methylation can reinforce variation in gene expression among cells, tissues, populations, and species. Despite a surge in studies on DNA methylation, we know little about the importance of DNA methylation in population differentiation and speciation. Here we investigate the regulatory and evolutionary impact of DNA methylation in five tissues of two Ficedula flycatcher species and their naturally occurring F-1 hybrids.Results: We show that the density of CpG in the promoters of genes determines the strength of the association between DNA methylation and gene expression. The impact of DNA methylation on gene expression varies among tissues with the brain showing unique patterns. Differentially expressed genes between parental species are predicted by genetic and methylation differentiation in CpG-rich promoters. However, both these factors fail to predict hybrid misexpression suggesting that promoter mismethylation is not a main determinant of hybrid misexpression in Ficedula flycatchers. Using allele-specific methylation estimates in hybrids, we also determine the genome-wide contribution of cis- and trans effects in DNA methylation differentiation. These distinct mechanisms are roughly balanced in all tissues except the brain, where trans differences predominate.Conclusions: Overall, this study provides insight on the regulatory and evolutionary impact of DNA methylation in songbirds.
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| 9. |
- Brommer, Jon E., et al.
(författare)
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The intersexual genetic correlation for lifetime fitness in the wild and its implications for sexual selection
- 2007
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 2:8, s. e744-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The genetic benefits of mate choice are limited by the degree to which male and female fitness are genetically correlated. If the intersexual correlation for fitness is small or negative, choosing a highly fit mate does not necessarily result in high fitness offspring. Methodology/Principal Finding Using an animal-model approach on data from a pedigreed population of over 7,000 collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis), we estimate the intersexual genetic correlation in Lifetime Reproductive Success (LRS) in a natural population to be negative in sign (−0.85±0.6). Simulations show this estimate to be robust in sign to the effects of extra-pair parentage. The genetic benefits in this population are further limited by a low level of genetic variation for fitness in males. Conclusions/Significance The potential for indirect sexual selection is nullified by sexual antagonistic fitness effects in this natural population. Our findings and the scarce evidence from other studies suggest that the intersexual genetic correlation for lifetime fitness may be very low in nature. We argue that this form of conflict can, in general, both constrain and maintain sexual selection, depending on the sex-specific additive genetic variances in lifetime fitness.
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| 10. |
- Burger, Claudia, et al.
(författare)
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Climate change, breeding date and nestling diet : how temperature differentially affects seasonal changes in pied flycatcher diet depending on habitat variation
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 81:4, s. 926-936
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Climate warming has led to shifts in the seasonal timing of species. These shifts can differ across trophic levels, and as a result, predator phenology can get out of synchrony with prey phenology. This can have major consequences for predators such as population declines owing to low reproductive success. However, such trophic interactions are likely to differ between habitats, resulting in differential susceptibility of populations to increases in spring temperatures. A mismatch between breeding phenology and food abundance might be mitigated by dietary changes, but few studies have investigated this phenomenon. Here, we present data on nestling diets of nine different populations of pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca, across their breeding range. This species has been shown to adjust its breeding phenology to local climate change, but sometimes insufficiently relative to the phenology of their presumed major prey: Lepidoptera larvae. In spring, such larvae have a pronounced peak in oak habitats, but to a much lesser extent in coniferous and other deciduous habitats. 2. We found strong seasonal declines in the proportions of caterpillars in the diet only for oak habitats, and not for the other forest types. The seasonal decline in oak habitats was most strongly observed in warmer years, indicating that potential mismatches were stronger in warmer years. However, in coniferous and other habitats, no such effect of spring temperature was found. 3. Chicks reached somewhat higher weights in broods provided with higher proportions of caterpillars, supporting the notion that caterpillars are an important food source and that the temporal match with the caterpillar peak may represent an important component of reproductive success. 4. We suggest that pied flycatchers breeding in oak habitats have greater need to adjust timing of breeding to rising spring temperatures, because of the strong seasonality in their food. Such between-habitat differences can have important consequences for population dynamics and should be taken into account in studies on phenotypic plasticity and adaptation to climate change.
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