THE QUANTITATIVE GENETICS OF FLORAL TRAIT VARIATION IN LOBELIA: POTENTIAL CONSTRAINTS ON ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION

Evolution ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina M. Caruso
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Evolution ◽  
Quantitative Genetics ◽  
Floral Trait ◽  
Trait Variation

scholarly journals Genetic approaches in comparative and evolutionary physiology

2015 ◽  
Vol 309 (3) ◽  
pp. R197-R214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay F. Storz ◽  
Jamie T. Bridgham ◽  
Scott A. Kelly ◽  
Theodore Garland
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Genetics ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Physiological Traits ◽  
Evolutionary Physiology ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Polygenic Inheritance ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
In The Wild

Whole animal physiological performance is highly polygenic and highly plastic, and the same is generally true for the many subordinate traits that underlie performance capacities. Quantitative genetics, therefore, provides an appropriate framework for the analysis of physiological phenotypes and can be used to infer the microevolutionary processes that have shaped patterns of trait variation within and among species. In cases where specific genes are known to contribute to variation in physiological traits, analyses of intraspecific polymorphism and interspecific divergence can reveal molecular mechanisms of functional evolution and can provide insights into the possible adaptive significance of observed sequence changes. In this review, we explain how the tools and theory of quantitative genetics, population genetics, and molecular evolution can inform our understanding of mechanism and process in physiological evolution. For example, lab-based studies of polygenic inheritance can be integrated with field-based studies of trait variation and survivorship to measure selection in the wild, thereby providing direct insights into the adaptive significance of physiological variation. Analyses of quantitative genetic variation in selection experiments can be used to probe interrelationships among traits and the genetic basis of physiological trade-offs and constraints. We review approaches for characterizing the genetic architecture of physiological traits, including linkage mapping and association mapping, and systems approaches for dissecting intermediary steps in the chain of causation between genotype and phenotype. We also discuss the promise and limitations of population genomic approaches for inferring adaptation at specific loci. We end by highlighting the role of organismal physiology in the functional synthesis of evolutionary biology.

Floral trait variation in fourCyclamen (Primulaceae) species

1998 ◽  
Vol 212 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 279-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Affre ◽  
J. D. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Floral Trait ◽  
Trait Variation

scholarly journals Accounting for genetic interactions improves modeling of individual quantitative trait phenotypes in yeast

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon K. G. Forsberg ◽  
Joshua S. Bloom ◽  
Meru J. Sadhu ◽  
Leonid Kruglyak ◽  
Örjan Carlborg
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Genetics ◽  
Quantitative Trait ◽  
Genetic Variance ◽  
Genetic Interactions ◽  
Allele Frequencies ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Additive Variance ◽  
Variance Explained

Experiments in model organisms report abundant genetic interactions underlying biologically important traits, whereas quantitative genetics theory predicts, and data support, that most genetic variance in populations is additive. Here we describe networks of capacitating genetic interactions that contribute to quantitative trait variation in a large yeast intercross population. The additive variance explained by individual loci in a network is highly dependent on the allele frequencies of the interacting loci. Modeling of phenotypes for multi-locus genotype classes in the epistatic networks is often improved by accounting for the interactions. We discuss the implications of these results for attempts to dissect genetic architectures and to predict individual phenotypes and long-term responses to selection.

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