GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Gephebase Gene
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00002440
Main curator
Courtier
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
White throated sparrow - tan-striped (TS) morph - less aggressive - homozygous for the standard arrangement ZAL2
Trait State in Taxon B
White throated sparrow - white-striped morphs - more aggressive - both sexes are heterozygous and carry one copy of ZAL2m (inverted region) and one copy of ZAL2
Ancestral State
Taxon A
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Common Name
white-throated sparrow
Synonyms
white-throated sparrow; Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmelin, 1789)
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Sauropsida; Sauria; Archelosauria; Archosauria; Dinosauria; Saurischia; Theropoda; Coelurosauria; Aves; Neognathae; Passeriformes; Passerellidae; Zonotrichia
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B
Common Name
white-throated sparrow
Synonyms
white-throated sparrow; Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmelin, 1789)
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Sauropsida; Sauria; Archelosauria; Archosauria; Dinosauria; Saurischia; Theropoda; Coelurosauria; Aves; Neognathae; Passeriformes; Passerellidae; Zonotrichia
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
Generic Gene Name
Esr1
Synonyms
ESR; ER; ERa; Estr; Estra; Nr3a1; ERalpha; ER-alpha; Esr
Sequence Similarities
Belongs to the nuclear hormone receptor family. NR3 subfamily.
GO - Biological Process
GO:0045944 : positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II ... show more
UniProtKB
Mus musculus
GenebankID or UniProtKB
Presumptive Null
No
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
Molecular Details of the Mutation
Increase in expression of the gene in the white-striped morph. Differential allelic expression in heterozygotes.
Experimental Evidence
Authors
Merritt JR; Grogan KE; Zinzow-Kramer WM; Sun D; Ortlund EA; Yi SV; Maney DL
Abstract
Behavioral evolution relies on genetic changes, yet few behaviors can be traced to specific genetic sequences in vertebrates. Here we provide experimental evidence showing that differentiation of a single gene has contributed to the evolution of divergent behavioral phenotypes in the white-throated sparrow, a common backyard songbird. In this species, a series of chromosomal inversions has formed a supergene that segregates with an aggressive phenotype. The supergene has captured ESR1, the gene that encodes estrogen receptor α (ERα); as a result, this gene is accumulating changes that now distinguish the supergene allele from the standard allele. Our results show that in birds of the more aggressive phenotype, ERα knockdown caused a phenotypic change to that of the less aggressive phenotype. We next showed that in a free-living population, aggression is predicted by allelic imbalance favoring the supergene allele. Finally, we identified cis-regulatory features, both genetic and epigenetic, that explain the allelic imbalance. This work provides a rare illustration of how genotypic divergence has led to behavioral phenotypic divergence in a vertebrate.
Additional References
RELATED GEPHE
Related Genes
No matches found.
Related Haplotypes
No matches found.
EXTERNAL LINKS
COMMENTS
@SuperGene @Inversion @Epimutation - cis-regulation that is attributable to both genetic and epigenetic factors
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