A genome-wide scan for genes under balancing selection in Drosophila melanogaster

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Research Article

Stephan Hutter¹  Andreas Wollstein¹  Myriam Croze¹  Vedran Božičević¹  Daniel Živković²  Wolfgang Stephan³ 

[1] Section of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology II, University of Munich (LMU), Grosshaderner Str. 2, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany;Section of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology II, University of Munich (LMU), Grosshaderner Str. 2, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany;Center of Food and Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, 85354, Freising, Germany;Section of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology II, University of Munich (LMU), Grosshaderner Str. 2, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany;Natural History Museum Berlin, 10115, Berlin, Germany;

关键词: Balancing selection;    Genome scan;    Drosophila melanogaster;    Population genetics;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12862-016-0857-z

 received in 2016-08-13, accepted in 2016-12-17,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn the history of population genetics balancing selection has been considered as an important evolutionary force, yet until today little is known about its abundance and its effect on patterns of genetic diversity. Several well-known examples of balancing selection have been reported from humans, mice, plants, and parasites. However, only very few systematic studies have been carried out to detect genes under balancing selection. We performed a genome scan in Drosophila melanogaster to find signatures of balancing selection in a derived (European) and an ancestral (African) population. We screened a total of 34 genomes searching for regions of high genetic diversity and an excess of SNPs with intermediate frequency.ResultsIn total, we found 183 candidate genes: 141 in the European population and 45 in the African one, with only three genes shared between both populations. Most differences between both populations were observed on the X chromosome, though this might be partly due to false positives. Functionally, we find an overrepresentation of genes involved in neuronal development and circadian rhythm. Furthermore, some of the top genes we identified are involved in innate immunity.ConclusionOur results revealed evidence of genes under balancing selection in European and African populations. More candidate genes have been found in the European population. They are involved in several different functions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017