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Dryad

A single locus regulates a female-limited color pattern polymorphism in a reptile

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Jan 10, 2022 version files 88.73 KB

Abstract

Animal coloration is often expressed in periodic patterns that can arise from differential cell migration, yet how these processes are regulated remains elusive. We show that a female-limited polymorphism in dorsal patterning (diamond/chevron) in the brown anole is controlled by a single Mendelian locus. This locus contains the gene CCDC170 that is adjacent to, and co-expressed with, the Estrogen receptor-1 gene, explaining why the polymorphism is female-limited. CCDC170 is an organizer of the Golgi-microtubule network underlying a cell’s ability to migrate and the two segregating alleles encode structurally different proteins. Our agent-based modeling of skin development demonstrates that, in principle, a change in cell migratory behaviors is sufficient to switch between the two morphs. These results suggest that CCDC170 might have been co-opted as a switch between color patterning morphs, likely by modulating cell migratory behaviors.