A non-coding region near Follistatin controls head colour polymorphism in the Gouldian finch

Discrete color morphs coexisting within a single population are common in nature. In a broad range of organisms, sympatric color morphs often display major differences in other traits, including morphology, physiology, or behavior. Despite the repeated occurrence of this phenomenon, our understanding of the genetics that underlie multi-trait differences and the factors that promote the long-term maintenance of phenotypic variability within a freely interbreeding population are incomplete. Here, we investigated the genetic basis of red and black head color in the Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae), a classic polymorphic system in which naturally occurring color morphs also display differences in aggressivity and reproductive success. We show that the candidate locus is a small (~70 Kb) non-coding region mapping to the Z-chromosome near the Follistatin (FST) gene. Unlike recent findings in other systems where phenotypic morphs are explained by large inversions containing hundreds of gene...

单一种群内共存的离散颜色形态（color morph）在自然界中十分普遍。在广泛的生物体类群中，同域分布的颜色形态往往在形态学、生理学或行为学等其他性状上表现出显著差异。尽管该现象反复出现，但我们对多性状差异背后的遗传机制，以及在自由交配种群中促进表型变异长期维持的相关因素，仍尚未形成完整认知。本研究以七彩文鸟（Erythrura gouldiae）为研究对象，探究其头部红色与黑色羽色的遗传基础。该物种是经典的多态性研究系统，其自然存在的颜色形态在攻击性与繁殖成功率上同样存在差异。本研究发现，候选基因座为一段位于Z染色体上、紧邻卵泡抑素（Follistatin, FST）基因的小型非编码区域（长度约70 Kb）。与近期其他研究系统中通过包含数百个基因的大片段倒位来解释表型形态的发现不同……