Navigation Links
Darwin in the genome
Date:4/3/2012

A current controversy raging in evolutionary biology is whether adaptation to new environments is the result of many genes, each of relatively small effect, or just a few genes of large effect. A new study published in Molecular Ecology strongly supports the first "many-small" hypothesis.

McGill University professor Andrew Hendry, from the Department of Biology and the Redpath Museum, and evolutionary geneticists at Basel University in Switzerland, studied how threespine stickleback fish adapted to lake and stream environments in British Columbia, Canada. The authors used cutting-edge genomic methods to test for genetic differences at thousands of positions ("loci") scattered across the stickleback genome. Very large genetic differences between lake and stream stickleback were discovered at more than a dozen of these loci, which is considerably more than expected under the alternative "few-large" hypothesis.

By examining four independently evolved lake-stream population pairs, the researchers were further able to show that increasing divergence between the populations involved genetic differences that were larger and present at more and more loci.

As these results were obtained using new high-resolution genetic methods, it is conceivable that previous perceptions of adaptation as being a genetically simple process are simply the result of a bias resulting from previous lower-resolution genomic methods.

"I suspect that as more and more studies use these methods, the tide of opinion will swerve strongly to the view that adaptation is a complex process that involves many genes spread across diverse places in the genome," says Prof. Hendry.


'/>"/>

Contact: Katherine Gombay
katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca
514-398-2189
McGill University
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1

Related biology news :

1. GEN joins Charles Darwin 2009 celebration
2. Beyond ooh-ooh, aah-aah-- expert on monkey communication kicks off Darwin series, May 5
3. Darwins legacy in 21st century biology
4. Darwins seminal impact on biology, anthropology, philosophy and psychology
5. 150 years of Darwins landmark book spawns international conference
6. Darwin anniversary heralds new conservation research era for Northern Ireland
7. Why didnt Darwin discover Mendels laws?
8. Darwin in a test tube
9. Why do we choose our mates? Ask Charles Darwin, prof says
10. U Alberta researcher in same group as Darwin and Hawking
11. Journalists invited to Darwin/Chicago 2009 conference Oct. 29-31
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:6/18/2013)... 2013). A team of internationally recognized feline experts including ... from the University of Lincoln, U.K. and Dr Ilona ... invited by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) ... compile guidelines for veterinarians, owners and those working with ... the domestic cat. The new guidelines appear in the ...
(Date:6/17/2013)... locations with central nervous system infections may well be ... according to a study to be published in ... Society for Microbiology. Researchers have detected the virus in ... central nervous system infections of unknown cause, and in ... pigs and poultry, suggesting animals may serve as reservoirs ...
(Date:6/17/2013)... turn out to be just as important as what they ... Hospital. , The study, led by Dr. Nav Persaud, ... eating habits in kids ages three to five and their ... at risk for cardiovascular disease later in life. , The ... today. , "We know that eating behaviours are ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Feline behavior experts release guidelines to improve the welfare of cats 2New virus discovered in patients with central nervous system infections 2New virus discovered in patients with central nervous system infections 3Poor eating behaviors may put preschoolers at risk for later health problems 2
... treatment of malaria has made progress since 2000, but an ... the mosquito-borne parasitic disease makes a comeback, the first joint ... UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) says. , The report on the ... as HIV/AIDS was launched today at events in New York, ...
... Mathematical models have become invaluable decision-making tools for ... Kingdom's foot-and-mouth epidemic of 2001, models can be ... underlying characteristics of an infection and they can ... however, such models make implicit assumptions that may ...
... processes in the human brain that lead to addiction, some researchers ... humans and bees don't look much alike. But how bees respond ... the workings of the primitive portion of our brains that lead ... drugs. , This region of the brain exerts such a powerful ...
Cached Biology News:Malaria killing a million a year 2Field of beams - Novel system uses polarized light pulses to reveal crop health 2Bees, Brains and Addiction 2
(Date:6/18/2013)... DALLAS , June 18, 2013 ... Segment (Sequencing Platforms, Knowledge Management Tools & Data Analysis Services) ... analyzes and studies the Major Market Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities ... , Asia-Pacific and Rest of ... Data Tables 22 Figures ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... 2013 This webinar will examine ... and promotion, and review the basic FDA regulations ... to apply these principles through real world case ...     The fundamentals on FDA regulations and guidance related ...     Assessing traditional and newer forms of promotional ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... WOODLANDS, Texas , June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ ... LXRX ), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering ... John Northcott has joined the company ... and operations. Mr. Northcott brings extensive commercial experience ... commercialization across a variety of therapeutic areas. ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... 18, 2013 Though health care jobs ... to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics -- the increase ... per month. Most new health care jobs were added in ... saw a loss of 6,000 jobs. Overall, the U.S. unemployment ... Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that a total of just ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Bioinformatics Market Worth $7.5 Billion by 2017 2Bioinformatics Market Worth $7.5 Billion by 2017 3Drug Advertising and Promotion Labeling: FDA Regulations, New Webinar Hosted by Xtalks 2John Northcott Joins Lexicon as Vice President of Marketing, Commercial Strategy and Operations 2John Northcott Joins Lexicon as Vice President of Marketing, Commercial Strategy and Operations 3MedZilla Employment Report for June 2013 -- Jobs in Health Care Grow, But at Slower Pace 2MedZilla Employment Report for June 2013 -- Jobs in Health Care Grow, But at Slower Pace 3
... Aug. 27 The American Stock Exchange(R),(Amex(R)) today ... the ticker,symbol CUR. Neuralstem, Inc. is a ... stem cell technology in the field of,regenerative medicine. ... Stock Exchange," said,John McGonegal, Senior Vice President of ...
... Neogen Corporation,(Nasdaq: NEOG ) has acquired Kane ... health products. Based in South Dakota, Kane ... than 200 distributors in the United States and ... its,well-regarded AG-TEK(R) veterinary product line, Kane Enterprises recorded,revenues ...
... KONG, Aug. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- China Technology,Development Group ... the appointment of Charlene Hua as the Company,s ... to a board,resolution passed on the same date. ... of the Company. As Chief Financial Officer, ...
Cached Biology Technology:Neogen Acquires Kane Enterprises 2China Technology Announces New Chief Financial Officer 2China Technology Announces New Chief Financial Officer 3
... a 2-color staining method for labeling DNA ... apoptotic cells by flow cytometry. The kit ... measuring apoptosis in cells including positive and ... washing, reaction and rinsing buffers for processing ...
... ReadyPrep overlay agarose, is a low ... sample setup to secure IPG strips in ... dye is incorporated to allow monitoring of ... 0.5% low melting point agarose in 1x ...
The Trans-Blot Plus gel and cassette assembly tray is used to hold the Trans-Blot Plus gel holder cassette, buffer, and other materials for the gel and membrane sandwich during their assembly....
... cell is an apparatus dedicated to general ... agarose slab gels. The cell includes the ... tray, 5 glass plates, 50 sheets of ... templates, and instructions. Dimensions are 21 x ...
Biology Products: