Data from: Paternal effects on the expression of a male polyphenism

Polyphenic traits are widespread, but compared to other traits, relatively few studies have explored the mechanisms that influence their inheritance. Here we investigated the relative importance of additive, nonadditive genetic, and parental sources of variation in the expression of polyphenic male dimorphism in the mite Rhizoglyphus echinopus, a species in which males are either fighters or scramblers. We established eight inbred lines through eight generations of full-sibling matings, and then crossed the inbred lines in a partial diallel design. Nymphs were isolated and raised to adulthood with ad libitum food. At adulthood, male morph was recorded for all male offspring. Using a Cockerham-Weir model we found strong paternal effects for this polyphenic trait that could be either linked to the Y chromosome of males or an indirect genetic effect that is environmentally transmitted. In additional analyses we were able to corroborate the paternal effects but also detected significant additive effects questioning the Cockerham-Weir analysis. This study reveals the potential importance of paternal effects on the expression of polyphenic traits and sheds light on the complex genetic architecture of these traits.

多型性状（polyphenic traits）分布广泛，但相较于其他性状，探索其遗传影响机制的研究相对较少。本研究以雄虫分为格斗型与爬散型的刺足根螨（Rhizoglyphus echinopus）为对象，探究了加性、非加性遗传以及亲本来源的变异对其雄性多型二态性表达的相对重要性。我们通过8代全同胞交配构建了8个近交系，并采用半双列杂交设计对各近交系进行杂交。将若虫分离后置于食物充足的环境中饲养至成虫期，记录所有雄性子代的雄虫表型。借助Cockerham-Weir模型分析，我们发现该多型性状存在显著的父本效应，该效应要么与雄性的Y染色体相关，要么属于一种可通过环境传递的间接遗传效应。后续补充分析验证了父本效应的存在，但同时也检测到了显著的加性效应，这对Cockerham-Weir模型的分析结果提出了质疑。本研究揭示了父本效应在多型性状表达中的潜在重要性，同时为解析这类性状的复杂遗传结构提供了新的见解。