Eda haplotypes in three-spined stickleback are associated with variation in immune gene expression
Citations Over TimeTop 13% of 2017 papers
Abstract
Haplotypes underlying local adaptation and speciation are predicted to have numerous phenotypic effects, but few genes involved have been identified, with much work to date concentrating on visible, morphological, phenotypes. The link between genes controlling these adaptive morphological phenotypes and the immune system has seldom been investigated, even though changes in the immune system could have profound adaptive consequences. The Eda gene in three-spined stickleback is one of the best studied major adaptation genes; it directly controls bony plate architecture and has been associated with additional aspects of adaptation to freshwater. Here, we exposed F2 hybrids, used to separate Eda genotype from genetic background, to contrasting conditions in semi-natural enclosures. We demonstrate an association between the Eda haplotype block and the expression pattern of key immune system genes. Furthermore, low plated fish grew less and experienced higher burdens of a common ectoparasite with fitness consequences. Little is currently known about the role of the immune system in facilitating adaptation to novel environments, but this study provides an indication of its potential importance.
Related Papers
- → Parallel evolution? Microsatellite variation of recently isolated marine and freshwater three‐spined stickleback(2007)125 cited
- → Endocrine disrupting effects on the nesting behaviour of male three‐spined sticklebackGasterosteus aculeatusL.(2006)40 cited
- → Production of Heteroploidy in the Three-Spined Stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus (L.)(1956)21 cited
- Status of unarmoured and spine-deficient populations (Charlotte unarmoured stickleback) of three spined stickleback, Gasterosteus sp. on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia(1984)
- → Final Preferred Temperature of Juvenile Three-Spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus (Linnaeus, 1758)(2019)1 cited