DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Genetic Basis of Red Female Throat Coloration in Sticklebacks--to Dimorphism and Back Again

许多动物物种的雄性（而不是雌性）都有“装饰物”。主要在社会环境中起作用的显著特征。然而，在一些物种中，雌性也显示出明显的装饰，导致两性二态性减少。长期以来，人们一直认为，这种相互共享的装饰品主要是在女性身上进化而来的，是男性选择的副产品，因为两性都表达了相同的基因。的吗?遗传相关?假设。然而，人们对女性装饰品的遗传基础知之甚少。拟议的研究旨在了解三刺棘鱼的雌性装饰，红色喉咙颜色的遗传基础。雄性刺鱼的红色喉部颜色得到了很好的研究；因此，最近在一些种群的女性中发现的这一特征创造了一个研究机会。在拟议的工作中，定量性状位点定位将用于鉴定与雌性和雄性喉咙颜色相关的基因组区域，用于测试遗传相关假设。两性二态性越来越被认为是生物多样性的一个重要方面。因此，这项研究将提高对动物多样性的遗传基础的理解。由于性别差异与许多疾病的发病、流行和严重程度的差异有关，因此对两性二态现象的进化遗传学的进一步了解也可能具有医学价值。该项目将有助于培训来自代表性不足群体的学生，并将在外联工作中发挥重要作用。

Males, but not females, of many animal species possess ?ornaments,? conspicuous traits that function mainly in a social context. In some species, however, females also display conspicuous ornaments, resulting in reduced sexual dimorphism. Such mutually shared ornaments have long been thought to evolve in females mainly as a byproduct of selection on males, owing to the expression of the same genes in both sexes?the ?genetic correlation? hypothesis. However, little is known about the genetic basis of female ornaments. The proposed research seeks to understand the genetic basis of a female ornament, red throat coloration, in the threespine stickleback fish. The red throat coloration of male sticklebacks is well studied; thus, the recent discovery of this trait in females of some populations creates a research opportunity. In the proposed work, Quantitative Trait Loci mapping will be used to identify genomic regions associated with female and male throat coloration for crosses between populations with and without red-throated females, enabling a test of the genetic correlation hypothesis. Sexual dimorphism is increasingly thought of as an important aspect of biodiversity. Thus this study will improve understanding of the genetic basis of a poorly explored aspect of animal diversity. Because sex differences are associated with variation in the onset, prevalence, and severity of many diseases, an improved understanding of the evolutionary genetics of sexual dimorphism may also have medical value. This project will contribute to the training of students from under-represented groups and will be featured in outreach efforts.