GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00002108
Main curator
Courtier
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
lighter black
Trait State in Taxon B
darker black - lizards on Pigash lava flow
Ancestral State
Taxon A
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Common Name
-
Synonyms
Uta antiqua; Uta stellata; Uta stansburiana Baird & Girard, 1852; USNM 12666; USNM:12666
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... omi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Sauropsida; Sauria; Lepidosauria; Squamata; Bifurcata; Unidentata; Episquamata; Toxicofera; Iguania; Phrynosomatidae; Phrynosomatinae; Uta
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B
Common Name
-
Synonyms
Uta antiqua; Uta stellata; Uta stansburiana Baird & Girard, 1852; USNM 12666; USNM:12666
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... omi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Sauropsida; Sauria; Lepidosauria; Squamata; Bifurcata; Unidentata; Episquamata; Toxicofera; Iguania; Phrynosomatidae; Phrynosomatinae; Uta
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
Presumptive Null
No
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
Molecular Details of the Mutation
no coding mutation associated with the phenotype - 2 differentiated SNPs in introns and one is a synonymous change.
Experimental Evidence
Authors
Corl A; Bi K; Luke C; Challa AS; Stern AJ; Sinervo B; Nielsen R
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity has been hypothesized to precede and facilitate adaptation to novel environments [1-8], but examples of plasticity preceding adaptation in wild populations are rare (but see [9, 10]). We studied a population of side-blotched lizards, Uta stansburiana, living on a lava flow that formed 22,500 years ago [11] to understand the origin of their novel melanic phenotype that makes them cryptic on the black lava. We found that lizards living on and off of the lava flow exhibited phenotypic plasticity in coloration but also appeared to have heritable differences in pigmentation. We sequenced the exomes of 104 individuals and identified two known regulators of melanin production, PREP and PRKAR1A, which had markedly increased levels of divergence between lizards living on and off the lava flow. The derived variants in PREP and PRKAR1A were only found in the lava population and were associated with increased pigmentation levels in an experimental cohort of hatchling lizards. Simulations suggest that the derived variants in the PREP and PRKAR1A genes arose recently and were under strong positive selection in the lava population. Overall, our results suggest that ancestral plasticity for coloration facilitated initial survival in the lava environment and was followed by genetic changes that modified the phenotype in the direction of the induced plastic response, possibly through de novo mutations. These observations provide a detailed example supporting the hypothesis that plasticity aids in the initial colonization of a novel habitat, with natural selection subsequently refining the phenotype with genetic adaptations to the new environment. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Additional References
RELATED GEPHE
Related Haplotypes
No matches found.
EXTERNAL LINKS
COMMENTS
@Plasticity - PREP is known to digest alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (a-MSH) = a hormone that stimulates the production of melanin
YOUR FEEDBACK is welcome!