ArticleBMC evolutionary biology2016
The genetic basis of discrete and quantitative colour variation in the polymorphic lizard, Ctenophorus decresii.
Article in BMC evolutionary biology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cryptic Ontogenetic Changes in the Ventral Coloration of a Color Polymorphic Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis).Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology · 2026Article
- Morph-specific selection drives phenotypic divergence in color polymorphic tawny owls (Strix aluco) in Northern Europe.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Intraspecific Variation in Dorsal Colour Patterns ofEcology and evolution · 2025Article
- Genetic Basis and Evolutionary Forces of Sexually Dimorphic Color Variation in a Toad-Headed Agamid Lizard.Molecular biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Beyond morphs: Inter-individual colour variation despite strong genetic determinism of colour morphs in a wild bird.Journal of evolutionary biology · 2023Article
- Genetic and environmental drivers of colour and pattern in the Australian jacky dragon (Amphibolurus muricatus).Journal of evolutionary biology · 2022Article
- Viability, behavior, and color expression in the offspring of matings between common wall lizardCurrent zoology · 2022Article
- Genetic Color Polymorphism of the Whitelined Sphinx Moth larva (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae).Journal of insect science (Online) · 2020Article
- Article
- Discrete or indiscrete? Redefining the colour polymorphism of the land snail Cepaea nemoralis.Heredity · 2019Article
- Regulatory changes in pterin and carotenoid genes underlie balanced color polymorphisms in the wall lizard.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Space use and genetic structure do not maintain color polymorphism in a species with alternative behavioral strategies.Ecology and evolution · 2019Article
- Specific MHC class I supertype associated with parasite infection and color morph in a wild lizard population.Ecology and evolution · 2018Article
- Morph-specific assortative mating in common wall lizard females.Current zoology · 2018Article
- Stress-induced changes in color expression mediated by iridophores in a polymorphic lizard.Ecology and evolution · 2017Article
- The genetic basis of discrete and quantitative colour variation in the polymorphic lizard, Ctenophorus decresii.BMC evolutionary biology · 2016Article
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4 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundColour polymorphic species provide invaluable insight into processes that generate and maintain intra-specific variation. Despite an increasing understanding of the genetic basis of discrete morphs, sources of colour variation within morphs remain poorly understood. Here we use the polymorphic tawny dragon lizard Ctenophorus decresii to test simple Mendelian models for the inheritance of discrete morphs, and to investigate the genetic basis of continuous variation among individuals across morphs. Males of this species express either orange, yellow, orange surrounded by yellow, or grey throats. Although four discrete morphs are recognised, the extent of orange and yellow varies greatly. We artificially elevated testosterone in F0 females and F1 juveniles to induce them to express the male throat colour polymorphism, and quantified colour variation across the pedigree.
resultsInheritance of discrete morphs in C. decresii best fit a model whereby two autosomal loci with complete dominance respectively determine the presence of orange and yellow. However, a single locus model with three co-dominant alleles for orange, yellow and grey could not be definitively rejected. Additionally, quantitative expression of the proportion of orange and yellow on the throat was strongly heritable (orange: h(2) = 0.84 ± 0.14; yellow: h(2) = 0.67 ± 0.19), with some evidence for covariance between the two.
conclusionsOur study supports the theoretical prediction that polymorphism should be governed by few genes of major effect, but implies broader genetic influence on variation in constituent morph traits.
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