A single locus regulates a female-limited color pattern polymorphism in a reptile.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35263124.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abm2387 and PMC identifier 11633106.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
Animal coloration is often expressed in periodic patterns that can arise from differential cell migration, yet how these processes are regulated remains elusive. We show that a female-limited polymorphism in dorsal patterning (diamond/chevron) in the brown anole is controlled by a single Mendelian locus. This locus contains the gene <i>CCDC170</i> that is adjacent to, and coexpressed with, the <i>Estrogen receptor-1</i> gene, explaining why the polymorphism is female limited. <i>CCDC170</i> is an organizer of the Golgi-microtubule network underlying a cell's ability to migrate, and the two segregating alleles encode structurally different proteins. Our agent-based modeling of skin development demonstrates that, in principle, a change in cell migratory behaviors is sufficient to switch between the two morphs. These results suggest that <i>CCDC170</i> might have been co-opted as a switch between color patterning morphs, likely by modulating cell migratory behaviors.