Isolation and characterization of 21 microsatellite markers in the barn owl (<i>Tyto alba</i>)

Burri, Reto; Antoniazza, Sylvain; Sivério, Felipe; Klein, Ákos; Roulin, Alexandre; Fumagalli, Luca

doi:10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02121.x

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…Although extra-pair paternity is very low in our population [75], in the present study we verified that the social parents of each offspring were the biological parents using six genetic markers ( Ta204 , Ta206 , Ta216 , Ta310 , Ta413 , and Ta414 ) [76]. In addition, to control for the potential impact that rearing conditions might have on the measured phenotypes, we performed a cross-fostering experiment at hatching by swapping half of the hatchlings between pairs of nests, thereby allocating genotypes randomly among rearing environments.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 57%

Linking melanism to brain development: expression of a melanism-related gene in barn owl feather follicles covaries with sleep ontogeny

et al. 2013

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BackgroundIntra-specific variation in melanocyte pigmentation, common in the animal kingdom, has caught the eye of naturalists and biologists for centuries. In vertebrates, dark, eumelanin pigmentation is often genetically determined and associated with various behavioral and physiological traits, suggesting that the genes involved in melanism have far reaching pleiotropic effects. The mechanisms linking these traits remain poorly understood, and the potential involvement of developmental processes occurring in the brain early in life has not been investigated. We examined the ontogeny of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a state involved in brain development, in a wild population of barn owls (Tyto alba) exhibiting inter-individual variation in melanism and covarying traits. In addition to sleep, we measured melanistic feather spots and the expression of a gene in the feather follicles implicated in melanism (PCSK2).ResultsAs in mammals, REM sleep declined with age across a period of brain development in owlets. In addition, inter-individual variation in REM sleep around this developmental trajectory was predicted by variation in PCSK2 expression in the feather follicles, with individuals expressing higher levels exhibiting a more precocial pattern characterized by less REM sleep. Finally, PCSK2 expression was positively correlated with feather spotting.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that the pace of brain development, as reflected in age-related changes in REM sleep, covaries with the peripheral activation of the melanocortin system. Given its role in brain development, variation in nestling REM sleep may lead to variation in adult brain organization, and thereby contribute to the behavioral and physiological differences observed between adults expressing different degrees of melanism.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 57%

Linking melanism to brain development: expression of a melanism-related gene in barn owl feather follicles covaries with sleep ontogeny

et al. 2013

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“…All 724 individuals were genotyped at 22 microsatellites with no evidence for null alleles and no constant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (Table S2) (Burri et al. ; Klein et al. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All 724 individuals were genotyped at 22 microsatellites with no evidence for null alleles and no constant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (Table S2) (Burri et al 2008;Klein et al 2009). The same loci were genotyped in outgroup populations from California, USA (T. a. pratincola, N = 65), Australia (T. a. delicatula, N = 19), and Singapore (T. a. javanica, N = 11).…”

Section: Sampling and Molecular Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The genetic basis of color-related local adaptation in a ring-like colonization around the Mediterranean

et al. 2015

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Uncovering the genetic basis of phenotypic variation and the population history under which it established is key to understand the trajectories along which local adaptation evolves. Here, we investigated the genetic basis and evolutionary history of a clinal plumage color polymorphism in European barn owls (Tyto alba). Our results suggest that barn owls colonized the Western Palearctic in a ring-like manner around the Mediterranean and meet in secondary contact in Greece. Rufous coloration appears to be linked to a recently evolved nonsynonymous-derived variant of the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene, which according to quantitative genetic analyses evolved under local adaptation during or following the colonization of Central Europe. Admixture patterns and linkage disequilibrium between the neutral genetic background and color found exclusively within the secondary contact zone suggest limited introgression at secondary contact. These results from a system reminiscent of ring species provide a striking example of how local adaptation can evolve from derived genetic variation.

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“…Population genetic statistics were estimated from genotypes obtained for 22 polymorphic microsatellite loci [Ta‐202, Ta‐204, Ta‐206, Ta‐210, Ta‐212, Ta‐214, Ta‐215, Ta‐216, Ta‐218, Ta‐220, Ta‐305, Ta‐306, Ta‐310, Ta‐402, Ta‐408 and Ta‐413 from Burri et al . () and 54f2, Calex‐05, FEPO42, Oe053, GgaRBG18 and Tgu06 from Klein et al . ()].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural selection in a postglacial range expansion: the case of the colour cline in the European barn owl

et al. 2014

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Gradients of variation--or clines--have always intrigued biologists. Classically, they have been interpreted as the outcomes of antagonistic interactions between selection and gene flow. Alternatively, clines may also establish neutrally with isolation by distance (IBD) or secondary contact between previously isolated populations. The relative importance of natural selection and these two neutral processes in the establishment of clinal variation can be tested by comparing genetic differentiation at neutral genetic markers and at the studied trait. A third neutral process, surfing of a newly arisen mutation during the colonization of a new habitat, is more difficult to test. Here, we designed a spatially explicit approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) simulation framework to evaluate whether the strong cline in the genetically based reddish coloration observed in the European barn owl (Tyto alba) arose as a by-product of a range expansion or whether selection has to be invoked to explain this colour cline, for which we have previously ruled out the actions of IBD or secondary contact. Using ABC simulations and genetic data on 390 individuals from 20 locations genotyped at 22 microsatellites loci, we first determined how barn owls colonized Europe after the last glaciation. Using these results in new simulations on the evolution of the colour phenotype, and assuming various genetic architectures for the colour trait, we demonstrate that the observed colour cline cannot be due to the surfing of a neutral mutation. Taking advantage of spatially explicit ABC, which proved to be a powerful method to disentangle the respective roles of selection and drift in range expansions, we conclude that the formation of the colour cline observed in the barn owl must be due to natural selection.

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Isolation and characterization of 21 microsatellite markers in the barn owl (Tyto alba)

Cited by 14 publications

References 6 publications

Linking melanism to brain development: expression of a melanism-related gene in barn owl feather follicles covaries with sleep ontogeny

Linking melanism to brain development: expression of a melanism-related gene in barn owl feather follicles covaries with sleep ontogeny

The genetic basis of color-related local adaptation in a ring-like colonization around the Mediterranean

Natural selection in a postglacial range expansion: the case of the colour cline in the European barn owl

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