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）广泛分布于各类生物类群中，但相较于其他性状，探索其遗传调控机制的相关研究仍相对匮乏。本研究以雄性存在格斗雄与漫游雄二态性的刺足根螨（Rhizoglyphus echinopus）为实验材料，旨在探究加性遗传、非加性遗传以及亲本来源的变异对其多型雄性形态表达的相对贡献。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（partial diallel design）对各近交系进行杂交组合配置。将孵化后的若螨单独分离，置于食物充足的培养条件下饲养至成虫阶段，随后记录所有子代雄螨的形态类型。借助Cockerham-Weir模型（Cockerham-Weir model）进行分析，结果显示该多型性状存在显著的父本效应，此类效应可能与雄性个体的Y染色体相关，或是一种可经环境传递的间接遗传效应。后续补充分析不仅验证了父本效应的存在，同时还检测到显著的加性遗传效应，这一结果对Cockerham-Weir模型的分析结论提出了质疑。本研究揭示了父本效应在多型性状表达中的潜在重要性，为解析这类性状的复杂遗传架构提供了新的理论视角。