A supergene determines highly divergent male reproductive morphs in the ruff

Küpper, Clemens; Stocks, Michael; Risse, Judith; Remedios, Natalie dos; Farrell, Lindsay; McRae, Susan B.; Morgan, Tawna C.; Karlionova, Natalia; Pinchuk, Pavel; Verkuil, Yvonne I.; Kitaysky, Alexander S.; Wingfield, John C.; Piersma, Theunis; Zeng, Kai; Slate, Jon; Blaxter, Mark; Lank, David B.; Burke, Terry

doi:10.1038/ng.3443

articleNature GeneticsNov 16, 2015HYBRID OA

A supergene determines highly divergent male reproductive morphs in the ruff

CKClemens Küpper MSMichael Stocks JRJudith Risse NDNatalie dos Remedios LFLindsay Farrell

University of Graz · University of Sheffield · +9 more institutions

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Abstract

Terry Burke, Mark Blaxter, David Lank and colleagues report a reference genome sequence of the ruff and analysis of the three distinct male morphs of this bird species. They identify a ‘supergene’ consisting of a fixed inversion in two of the morphs and identify candidate reproductive trait genes in this region. Three strikingly different alternative male mating morphs (aggressive 'independents', semicooperative 'satellites' and female-mimic 'faeders') coexist as a balanced polymorphism in the ruff, Philomachus pugnax, a lek-breeding wading bird1,2,3. Major differences in body size, ornamentation, and aggressive and mating behaviors are inherited as an autosomal polymorphism4,5. We show that development into…

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Topics

Keywords

Biology
Supergene (geology)
Evolutionary biology
Zoology
Reproduction
Ecology

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