ArticleMolecular ecology2014
Genetic basis of continuous variation in the levels and modular inheritance of pigmentation in cichlid fishes.
Article in Molecular ecology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.
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48 citing papers in PubMed, 100 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Convergent Evolution and the Epigenome.Epigenomes · 2025Review
- A Chromosome Inversion Creates a Supergene for Sex and Colour in Lake Malawi Cichlids.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Genetic and Developmental Divergence in the Neural Crest Program between Cichlid Fish Species.Molecular biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Meristic co-evolution and genomic co-localization of lateral line scales and vertebrae in Central American cichlid fishes.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Genetic and developmental divergence in the neural crest programme between cichlid fish species.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Article
- The evolution and genetic basis of a functionally critical skull bone, the parasphenoid, among Lake Malawi cichlids.Evolutionary journal of the Linnean Society · 2024Article
- Neural crest cells as a source of microevolutionary variation.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2023Review
- Genetic basis of ecologically relevant body shape variation among four genera of cichlid fishes.Molecular ecology · 2023Article
- Morphological and temporal variation in early embryogenesis contributes to species divergence in Malawi cichlid fishes.Evolution & development · 2023Article
- East African cichlid fishes.EvoDevo · 2023Review
- Covariation of brain and skull shapes as a model to understand the role of crosstalk in development and evolution.Evolution & development · 2023Article
- Differences among reciprocal hybrids ofHydrobiologia · 2023Article
- Population Genomics of Variegated Toad-Headed Lizard Phrynocephalus versicolor and Its Adaptation to the Colorful Sand of the Gobi Desert.Genome biology and evolution · 2022Article
- Between a Rock and a Hard Polytomy: Phylogenomics of the Rock-Dwelling Mbuna Cichlids of Lake Malaŵi.Systematic biology · 2022Article
- Polygenic sex determination produces modular sex polymorphism in an African cichlid fish.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- A highly contiguous nuclear genome assembly of the mandarinfish Synchiropus splendidus (Syngnathiformes: Callionymidae).G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2021Article
- The cichlid oral and pharyngeal jaws are evolutionarily and genetically coupled.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Ciliary Rootlet Coiled-Coil 2 (crocc2) Is Associated with Evolutionary Divergence and Plasticity of Cichlid Jaw Shape.Molecular biology and evolution · 2021Article
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6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Variation in pigmentation type and levels is a hallmark of myriad evolutionary radiations, and biologists have long been fascinated by the factors that promote and maintain variation in coloration across populations. Here, we provide insights into the genetic basis of complex and continuous patterns of colour variation in cichlid fishes, which offer a vast diversity of pigmentation patterns that have evolved in response to both natural and sexual selection. Specifically, we crossed two divergent cichlid species to generate an F2 mapping population that exhibited extensive variation in pigmentation levels and patterns. Our experimental design is robust in that it combines traditional quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis with population genomics, which has allowed us to move efficiently from QTL interval to candidate gene. In total, we detected 41 QTL and 13 epistatic interactions that underlie melanocyte- and xanthophore-based coloration across the fins and flanks of these fishes. We also identified 2 QTL and 1 interaction for variation in the magnitude of integration among these colour traits. This finding in particular is notable as there are marked differences both within and between species with respect to the complexity of pigmentation patterns. While certain individuals are characterized by more uniform 'integrated' colour patterns, others exhibit many more degrees of freedom with respect to the distribution of colour 'modules' across the fins and flank. Our data reveal, for the first time, a genetic basis for this difference. Finally, we implicate pax3a as a mediator of continuous variation in the levels of xanthophore-based colour along the cichlid flank.
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