Development of G: A test in an amphibious fish
Styga, JM; Houslay, T; Wilson, A; et al.Earley, RL
Date: 16 October 2018
Journal
Heredity
Publisher
Springer Nature
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Heritable variation in, and genetic correlations among, traits determine the response of
multivariate phenotypes to natural selection. However, as traits develop over ontogeny, patterns
of genetic (co)variation and integration captured by the G matrix may also change. Despite this,
few studies have investigated how genetic ...
Heritable variation in, and genetic correlations among, traits determine the response of
multivariate phenotypes to natural selection. However, as traits develop over ontogeny, patterns
of genetic (co)variation and integration captured by the G matrix may also change. Despite this,
few studies have investigated how genetic parameters underpinning multivariate phenotypes
change as animals pass through major life history stages. Here, using a self-fertilizing
hermaphroditic fish species, mangrove rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus), we test the
hypothesis that G changes from hatching through reproductive maturation. We also test
Cheverud’s conjecture by asking whether phenotypic patterns provide an acceptable surrogate
for patterns of genetic (co)variation within and across ontogenetic stages. For a set of
morphological traits linked to locomotor (jumping) performance, we find that the overall level of
genetic integration (as measured by the mean-squared correlation across all traits) does not
change significantly over ontogeny. However, we also find evidence that some trait-specific
genetic variances and pairwise genetic correlations do change. Ontogenetic changes in G
indicate the presence of genetic variance for developmental processes themselves, while also
suggesting that any genetic constraints on morphological evolution may be age-dependent.
Phenotypic correlations closely resembled genetic correlations at each stage in ontogeny. Thus,
our results are consistent with the premise that – at least under common environment conditions -
phenotypic correlations can be a good substitute for genetic correlations in studies of
multivariate developmental evolution.
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