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1 June 2004 FITNESS EFFECTS OF A SELFISH GENE (THE MUS T COMPLEX) ARE REVEALED IN AN ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT
Lara S. Carroll, Shawn Meagher, Linda Morrison, Dustin J. Penn, Wayne K. Potts
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Abstract

In wild house mice, genes linked to the t transmission distortion complex cause meiotic drive by sabotaging wild-type gametes. The t complex is consequently inherited at frequencies higher than 90%. Yet, for unclear reasons, in wild mouse populations this selfish DNA is found at frequencies much lower than expected. Here, we examine selection on the t complex in 10 seminatural populations of wild mice based on data from 234 founders and nearly 2000 progeny. Eight of the 10 populations decreased in t frequency over one generation, and the overall frequency of t haplotypes across all 10 populations was 48.5% below expectations based on transmission distortion and 34.3% below Mendelian (or Hardy-Weinberg) expectations. Behavioral and reproductive data were collected for 10 months for each population, and microsatellite genotyping was performed on seven of the populations to determine parentage. These combined data show t-associated fitness declines in both males and females. This is the first study to show evidence for a reduction in the ability of /t males to maintain territories. Because females tend to mate with dominant males, impairment of territorial success can explain much of the selection against t observed in our populations. In nature, selection against heterozygote carriers of the t complex helps solve the puzzlingly low t frequencies found in wild populations. This ecological approach for determining fitness consequences of genetic variants has broad application for the discovery of gene function in general.

Lara S. Carroll, Shawn Meagher, Linda Morrison, Dustin J. Penn, and Wayne K. Potts "FITNESS EFFECTS OF A SELFISH GENE (THE MUS T COMPLEX) ARE REVEALED IN AN ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT," Evolution 58(6), 1318-1328, (1 June 2004). https://doi.org/10.1554/03-544
Received: 19 September 2003; Accepted: 8 February 2004; Published: 1 June 2004
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KEYWORDS
functional genomics
male dominance
seminatural population
t complex
transmission distortion
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