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Genetic differentiation of neutral markers and quantitative traits in predominantly selfing metapopulations: confronting theory and experiments with Arabidopsis thaliana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2006

EMMANUELLE PORCHER ,
TATIANA GIRAUD  and
CLAIRE LAVIGNE
EMMANUELLE PORCHER
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, UMR CNRS 8079, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France
TATIANA GIRAUD
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, UMR CNRS 8079, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France
CLAIRE LAVIGNE
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, UMR CNRS 8079, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France Current address: Unité Plantes et Systèmes de Culture Horticoles, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Avignon, France.

Abstract

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The comparison of the genetic differentiation of quantitative traits (QST) and molecular markers (FST) can inform on the strength and spatial heterogeneity of selection in natural populations, provided that markers behave neutrally. However, selection may influence the behaviour of markers in selfing species with strong linkage disequilibria among loci, therefore invalidating this test of detection of selection. We address this issue by monitoring the genetic differentiation of five microsatellite loci (FST) and nine quantitative traits (QST) in experimental metapopulations of the predominantly selfing species Arabidopsis thaliana, that evolved during eight generations. Metapopulations differed with respect to population size and selection heterogeneity. In large populations, the genetic differentiation of neutral microsatellites was much larger under heterogeneous selection than under uniform selection. Using simulations, we show that this influence of selection heterogeneity on FST can be attributable to initial linkage disequilibria among loci, creating stronger genetic differentiation of QTL than expected under a simple additive model with no initial linkage. We found no significant differences between FST and QST regardless of selection heterogeneity, despite a demonstrated effect of selection on QST values. Additional data are required to validate the role of mating system and linkage disequilibria in the joint evolution of neutral and selected genetic differentiation, but our results suggest that FST/QST comparisons can be conservative tests to detect selection in selfing species.

Type
Research Article
Information
Genetics Research , Volume 87 , Issue 1 , February 2006 , pp. 1 - 12
Copyright
2006 Cambridge University Press