title: Localization of quantitative trait loci for diapause and other photoperiodically regulated life history traits important in adaptation to seasonally varying environments.
abstract: Seasonally changing environments at high latitudes present great challenges for the reproduction and survival of insects, and photoperiodic cues play an important role in helping them to synchronize their life cycle with prevalent and forthcoming conditions. We have mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) responsible for the photoperiodic regulation of four life history traits, female reproductive diapause, cold tolerance, egg-to-eclosion development time and juvenile body weight in Drosophila montana strains from different latitudes in Canada and Finland. The F2 progeny of the cross was reared under a single photoperiod (LD cycle 16:8), which the flies from the Canadian population interpret as early summer and the flies from the Finnish population as late summer. The analysis revealed a unique QTL for diapause induction on the X chromosome and several QTL for this and the other measured traits on the 4th chromosome. Flies' cold tolerance, egg-to-eclosion development time and juvenile body weight had several QTL also on the 2nd, 3rd and 5th chromosome, some of the peaks overlapping with each other. These results suggest that while the downstream output of females' photoperiodic diapause response is partly under a different genetic control from that of the other traits in the given day length, all traits also share some QTL, possibly involving genes with pleiotropic effects and/or multiple tightly linked genes. Nonoverlapping QTL detected for some of the traits also suggest that the traits are potentially capable of independent evolution, even though this may be restricted by epistatic interactions and/or correlations and trade-offs between the traits.
authors: Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Survontie 9, PO Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland.|School of Biology, Dyers Brae, University of St Andrews, Greenside Place, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TH, UK.
authors: Venera I
authors: VI
authors: Tyukmaeva
authors: School of Biology, Dyers Brae, University of St Andrews, Greenside Place, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TH, UK.
authors: Paris
authors: P
authors: Veltsos
authors: Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.
authors: Jon
authors: J
authors: Slate
authors: Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.|School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK.
authors: Emma
authors: E
authors: Gregson
authors: Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Survontie 9, PO Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland.
authors: Hannele
authors: H
authors: Kauranen
authors: Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Survontie 9, PO Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland.
authors: Maaria
authors: M
authors: Kankare
authors: School of Biology, Dyers Brae, University of St Andrews, Greenside Place, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TH, UK.
authors: Michael G
authors: MG
authors: Ritchie
authors: Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.|Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences-Tjärnö, University of Gothenburg, Strömstad, SE 452 96, Sweden.
authors: Roger K
authors: RK
authors: Butlin
authors: Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Survontie 9, PO Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland.
authors: Anneli
authors: A
authors: Hoikkala
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002170:Canada; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D010641:Phenotype; D017440:Photoperiod; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012621:Seasons
keywords: Drosophila montana; cold tolerance; development time; diapause; juvenile body weight; photoperiodism