Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland.
Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHA Montpellier 5, FR-34293, France.
Ecol Evol. 2015 Feb;5(3):543-56. doi: 10.1002/ece3.1379. Epub 2015 Jan 7.
Even though laboratory evolution experiments have demonstrated genetic variation for learning ability, we know little about the underlying genetic architecture and genetic relationships with other ecologically relevant traits. With a full diallel cross among twelve inbred lines of Drosophila melanogaster originating from a natural population (0.75 < F < 0.93), we investigated the genetic architecture of olfactory learning ability and compared it to that for another behavioral trait (unconditional preference for odors), as well as three traits quantifying the ability to deal with environmental challenges: egg-to-adult survival and developmental rate on a low-quality food, and resistance to a bacterial pathogen. Substantial additive genetic variation was detected for each trait, highlighting their potential to evolve. Genetic effects contributed more than nongenetic parental effects to variation in traits measured at the adult stage: learning, odorant perception, and resistance to infection. In contrast, the two traits quantifying larval tolerance to low-quality food were more strongly affected by parental effects. We found no evidence for genetic correlations between traits, suggesting that these traits could evolve at least to some degree independently of one another. Finally, inbreeding adversely affected all traits.
尽管实验室进化实验已经证明了学习能力的遗传变异，但我们对其潜在的遗传结构以及与其他生态相关特征的遗传关系知之甚少。我们在源自自然种群的 12 个近交系的全双列杂交中（0.75 < F < 0.93），研究了嗅觉学习能力的遗传结构，并将其与另一种行为特征（对气味的无条件偏好）以及三个量化应对环境挑战能力的特征进行了比较：在低质量食物上的卵到成虫的存活率和发育速度，以及对细菌病原体的抗性。每个特征都检测到了大量的加性遗传变异，突出了它们进化的潜力。遗传效应对成虫阶段测量的特征的变异贡献超过了非遗传亲本效应：学习、气味感知和对感染的抗性。相比之下，量化幼虫对低质量食物耐受性的两个特征受亲本效应的影响更大。我们没有发现特征之间存在遗传相关性的证据，这表明这些特征至少可以在一定程度上彼此独立地进化。最后，近交对所有特征都有不利影响。
