Industrial melanism in British peppered moths has a singular and recent mutational origin

0359766 - BC 2012 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
van´t Hof, A. E. - Edmonds, N. - Dalíková, Martina - Marec, František - Saccheri, I. J.
Industrial melanism in British peppered moths has a singular and recent mutational origin.
Science. Roč. 332, č. 6032 (2011), s. 958-960. ISSN 0036-8075. E-ISSN 1095-9203
R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA600960925
Grant - others:Natural Environment Research Council(GB) NE/C003101/1; Grantová agentura ČR(CZ) GD521/08/H042
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50070508
Keywords : Biston betularia
Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology
Impact factor: 31.201, year: 2011

The rapid spread of a novel black form (known as carbonaria) of the peppered moth Biston betularia in 19th-century Britain is a textbook example of how an altered environment may produce morphological adaptation through genetic change. However, the underlying genetic basis of the difference between the wild-type (light-colored) and carbonaria forms has remained unknown. We have genetically mapped the carbonaria morph to a 200-kilobase region orthologous to a segment of silkworm chromosome 17 and show that there is only one core sequence variant associated with the carbonaria morph, carrying a signature of recent strong selection. The carbonaria region coincides with major wing-patterning loci in other lepidopteran systems, suggesting the existence of basal color-patterning regulators in this region.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0197482