Data from: The genetic basis of discrete and quantitative colour variation in the polymorphic lizard, Ctenophorus decresii

Background: Colour polymorphic species provide invaluable insight into processes that generate and maintain intra-specific variation. Despite an increasing understanding of the genetic basis of discrete morphs, sources of colour variation within morphs remain poorly understood. Here we use the polymorphic tawny dragon lizard Ctenophorus decresii to test simple Mendelian models for the inheritance of discrete morphs, and to investigate the genetic basis of continuous variation among individuals across morphs. Males of this species express either orange, yellow, orange surrounded by yellow, or grey throats. Although four discrete morphs are recognised, the extent of orange and yellow varies greatly. We artificially elevated testosterone in F0 females and F1 juveniles to induce them to express the male throat colour polymorphism, and quantified colour variation across the pedigree. Results: Inheritance of discrete morphs in C. decresii best fit a model whereby two autosomal loci with complete dominance respectively determine the presence of orange and yellow. However, a single locus model with three co-dominant alleles for orange, yellow and grey could not be definitively rejected. Additionally, quantitative expression of the proportion of orange and yellow on the throat was strongly heritable (orange: h2 = 0.84 ± 0.14; yellow: h2 = 0.67 ± 0.19), with some evidence for covariance between the two. Conclusions: Our study supports the theoretical prediction that polymorphism should be governed by few genes of major effect, but implies broader genetic influence on variation in constituent morph traits.

Usage Notes
Morph assignment - offspring and parentsMorph assignment of offsprings, dams, and sires, from threshold values of percentage of colour (red and yellow) on throat.Dryad_RawMorph.xlsx

背景：色型多态物种对于揭示产生并维持种内变异的过程具有重要意义。尽管我们对离散形态的遗传基础有了不断深入的理解，但形态内颜色变异的来源仍理解不足。在本研究中，我们以多态的棕色龙蜥 Ctenophorus decresii 为例，检验简单的孟德尔遗传模型在离散形态遗传中的适用性，并探究个体间形态连续变异的遗传基础。该物种的雄性个体表现出橙色、黄色、橙色周围环绕黄色或灰色的喉部颜色。尽管已识别出四种离散形态，但橙色和黄色的程度存在显著差异。我们通过人工提高 F0 雌性和 F1 幼崽的睾酮水平，诱导它们表达雄性喉部颜色的多态性，并量化了谱系中的颜色变异。结果：C. decresii 离散形态的遗传最符合一个模型，即由两个具有完全显性的常染色体位点分别决定橙色和黄色的存在。然而，一个具有三个共显性等位基因（橙色、黄色和灰色）的单位点模型尚不能被明确拒绝。此外，喉部上橙色和黄色比例的定量表达具有强烈的遗传性（橙色：h2 = 0.84 ± 0.14；黄色：h2 = 0.67 ± 0.19），且存在两者间相关性的某些证据。结论：我们的研究支持了理论预测，即多态性应由少数具有重大影响的基因所调控，但暗示了对构成形态性状变异的更广泛的遗传影响。
使用说明
形态分配 - 后代和亲本：后代、雌性和雄性个体的形态分配基于喉部颜色（红色和黄色）百分比的国值。
Dryad_RawMorph.xlsx