Department of Biology and North Carolina Center for Biodiversity, Howell Science Complex N108, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4353, USA.
Mol Ecol. 2010 Dec;19(23):5101-25. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04846.x. Epub 2010 Oct 11.
Colour polymorphisms (CP's) continue to be of interest to evolutionary biologists because of their general tractability, importance in studies of selection and potential role in speciation. Since some of the earliest studies of CP, it has been evident that alternative colour morphs often differ in features other than colour. Here we review the rapidly accumulating evidence concerning the genetic mechanisms underlying correlations between CP and other traits in animals. We find that evidence for genetic correlations is now available for taxonomically diverse systems and that physical linkage and regulatory mechanisms including transcription factors, cis-regulatory elements, and hormone systems provide pathways for the ready accumulation or modification of these correlations. Moreover, physical linkage and regulatory mechanisms may both contribute to genetic correlation in some of the best-studied systems. These results raise the possibility that negative frequency-dependent selection and disruptive selection might often be acting on suites of traits and that the cumulative effects of such selection, as well as correlational selection, may be important to CP persistence and evolution. We consider additional evolutionary implications. We recommend continued efforts to elucidate the mechanisms underlying CP-correlated characters and the more frequent application of comparative approaches, looking at related species that vary in character correlations and patterns of selection. We also recommend efforts to elucidate how frequency-dependent selection may act on suites of characters.
颜色多态性（CP）继续引起进化生物学家的兴趣，因为它们具有普遍的可操作性，在选择研究中的重要性以及在物种形成中的潜在作用。自从最早的一些 CP 研究以来，很明显，替代颜色形态通常在颜色以外的特征上有所不同。在这里，我们回顾了有关动物中 CP 与其他特征之间相关性的遗传机制的快速积累的证据。我们发现，现在已经有证据表明，分类学上多样化的系统存在遗传相关性，并且物理连锁和调节机制，包括转录因子，顺式调节元件和激素系统，为这些相关性的容易积累或修饰提供了途径。此外，在一些研究最深入的系统中，物理连锁和调节机制可能都有助于遗传相关性。这些结果提出了这样一种可能性，即负频率依赖性选择和破坏性选择可能经常作用于一系列特征，并且这种选择以及相关选择的累积效应可能对 CP 的持久性和进化很重要。我们考虑了其他进化意义。我们建议继续努力阐明 CP 相关特征的机制，并更频繁地应用比较方法，研究在特征相关性和选择模式上有所不同的相关物种。我们还建议努力阐明频率依赖性选择如何作用于一系列特征。
