A mosaic of modular variation at a single gene underpins convergent plumage coloration
Dave Lutgen, Valentina Peona, Madeline A. Chase, Niloofar Alaei Kakhki, Fritjof Lammers, Stacey G de Souza, Anne‐Lyse Ducrest, Marta Burri, Pavlos Andriopoulos, Sifiso M. Lukhele, Michaella Moysi, Elizabeth Yohannes, Abdin Abbasov, Tamer Albayrak, Mansour Aliabadian, Nicolas Auchli, Vasileios Bontzorlos, Ioulios Christoforou, José Luís Copete, Egidio Fulco, Jesús T. García, Zura Javakhishvili, Anna Kazazou, Fumin Lei, Yang Liu, Nika Paposhvili, Robert Patchett, Áron Péter, Raphael Ritter, Attila D. Sándor, Fabian Schneider, Petar Shurulinkov, Sergey Sklyarenko, Borut Stumberger, Abulfaz Tagiyev, Alessia Uboldi, Nikitas Vogiatzis, Fanny Taborsak-Lines, Joel Gruselius, Li-Qun Yao, Catherine L. Peichel, Alexander Suh, Pierre‐Alexandre Gagnaire, Alexander N. G. Kirschel, Manuel Schweizer, Holger Schielzeth, Reto Burri
Abstract
The reshuffling of genomic variation from multiple origins is an important contributor to phenotypic diversification, yet insights into the evolutionary trajectories of this combinatorial process and their interplay with genetic architecture remain scarce. We show that convergent plumage color evolution in wheatears involves a monogenic architecture with modular variation introgressed at the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) locus. Introgression of a new transposable element insertion and linked protein-coding variation underpin a transspecific throat color polymorphism, which stable isotopes suggest is associated with alternative foraging niches. Cointrogression of linked regulatory ASIP variation resulted in mantle color convergence in one species, whereas convergent color evolution at the genus level required new variation. Our results demonstrate evolutionary trajectories from introgressed variation realized within the constraints of a monogenic architecture.