title: A sexual ornament in chickens is affected by pleiotropic alleles at HAO1 and BMP2, selected during domestication.
abstract: Domestication is one of the strongest forms of short-term, directional selection. Although selection is typically only exerted on one or a few target traits, domestication can lead to numerous changes in many seemingly unrelated phenotypes. It is unknown whether such correlated responses are due to pleiotropy or linkage between separate genetic architectures. Using three separate intercrosses between wild and domestic chickens, a locus affecting comb mass (a sexual ornament in the chicken) and several fitness traits (primarily medullary bone allocation and fecundity) was identified. This locus contains two tightly-linked genes, BMP2 and HAO1, which together produce the range of pleiotropic effects seen. This study demonstrates the importance of pleiotropy (or extremely close linkage) in domestication. The nature of this pleiotropy also provides insights into how this sexual ornament could be maintained in wild populations.
authors.affiliation: IFM Biology, AVIAN Behavioural Genomics and Physiology Group, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnsson
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gustafson
authors.forename: Carl-Johan
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: Anna-Stina
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Sahlqvist
authors.forename: Kenneth B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Jonsson
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kerje
authors.forename: Olov
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ekwall
authors.forename: Olle
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kämpe
authors.forename: Leif
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics*; D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D003129:Comb and Wattles / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D058685:Genetic Pleiotropy; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012641:Selection, Genetic
chemical_list: D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases; C408463:HAO1 protein, human; C020821:glycollate oxidase