Journal article
Chromosomal rearrangements maintain a polymorphic supergene controlling butterfly mimicry
M Joron, L Frezal, RT Jones, NL Chamberlain, SF Lee, CR Haag, A Whibley, M Becuwe, SW Baxter, L Ferguson, PA Wilkinson, C Salazar, C Davidson, R Clark, MA Quail, H Beasley, R Glithero, C Lloyd, S Sims, MC Jones Show all
Nature | Published : 2011
DOI: 10.1038/nature10341
Abstract
Supergenes are tight clusters of loci that facilitate the co-segregation of adaptive variation, providing integrated control of complex adaptive phenotypes1. Polymorphic supergenes, in which specific combinations of traits are maintained within a single population, were first described for 'pin' and 'thrumg' floral types in Primula1 and Fagopyrum, but classic examples are also found in insect mimicry3-5 and snail morphology6. Understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that generate these co-adapted gene sets, as well as the mode of limiting the production of unfit recombinant forms, remains a substantial challenge7-10. Here we show that individual wing-pattern morphs in the polymorphic mimeti..
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Funding Acknowledgements
We thank M. Blaxter and D. Charlesworth for advice throughout the study; The GenePool and S. Humphray for DNA sequencing; S. Kumar and A. Papanicolaou for bioinformatics support; M. Beltran, A. Bulski, M. Veuille and the Botanique-Entomologie-Mycologie molecular facility (BoEM) for laboratory support; S. Johnston for genome-size estimates in H. numata; D. Obbard for providing R scripts; M. Abanto, S. Gallusser, C. Ramirez, L. de Silva, J. Barbut, B. Gilles and G. Lamas for help with butterfly rearing, fieldwork and collecting permits; and the Peruvian National Institute of Natural Resources (INRENA) for granting collecting and export permits (076-2007-INRENA-IFFS-DCB). Fieldwork in French Guiana was supported by a CNRS 'Nouragues Research Grant'. This work was supported by an EMBO long-term fellowship (ALTF-431-2004), EMBO-matching funds from NWO (Netherlands), a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (516002.K5917/ROG), a CNRS grant (ATIP Biodiversite 2008, France) and a European Research Council Starting Grant (ERC-Stg 'MimEvol') to M. J., a BBSRC grant (BBE0118451) to C. D. J. and R.H.ff.-C., a Leverhulme Trust grant (F/00144AY) to R.H.ff.-C., and a Royal Society University Research Fellowship and a Leverhulme Research Leadership grant to C. D. J.