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Environment-Dependent Genotype-Phenotype Associations in Avian Breeding Time
Phillip Gienapp1, Veronika N Laine1, A C Mateman1
1Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)Wageningen, Netherlands.
Frontiers in Genetics
|August 22, 2017
Summary
Genes influencing bird breeding times are affected by spring temperatures. Accounting for these genotype-by-environment interactions improves our ability to find genes related to plastic traits and understand their evolutionary potential.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary genetics
- Quantitative genetics
- Behavioral ecology
Background:
- Identifying genes for complex traits is challenging due to phenotypic plasticity.
- Genotype-by-environment interactions can explain limited success in genome-wide association studies for plastic traits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate genotype-by-environment interactions in avian seasonal breeding timing.
- To explore how spring temperature influences gene effects on egg-laying dates in great tits.
Main Methods:
- Genotyped 2045 great tit females using 384,081 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
- Recorded egg-laying dates and analyzed SNP associations with temperature interactions.
Main Results:
- No single SNP reached genome-wide significance for egg-laying date.
- Models including SNP-by-temperature interactions performed better, suggesting environment-dependent gene effects.
Conclusions:
- Gene effects on seasonal timing are temperature-dependent in great tits.
- Incorporating genotype-by-environment interactions is crucial for detecting genes underlying phenotypic plasticity and assessing evolutionary potential.
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