RAD-Seq derived markers flank the shell colour and banding loci of the Cepaea nemoralis supergene

Richards, Paul M.; Liu, M. Maureen; Lowe, Natalie; Davey, John W.; Blaxter, Mark L.; Davison, Angus

Abstract

Studies on the classic shell colour and banding polymorphism of the land snail Cepaea
played a crucial role in establishing the importance of natural selection in maintaining
morphological variation. Cepaea is also a pre-eminent model for ecological genetics
because the outward colour and banding phenotype is entirely genetically determined,
primarily by a ‘supergene’ of at least five loci. Unfortunately, progress in
understanding the evolution and maintenance of the Cepaea polymorphism stalled,
partly because of a lack of genetic markers. With a view to re-establish Cepaea as a
prominent model of molecular ecology, we made six laboratory crosses of Cepaea
nemoralis, five of which segregated for shell ground colour (C) and the presence or
absence of bands (B). First, scoring of colour and banding in 323 individuals found no
recombination between the C and B loci of the supergene. Second, using restriction
site–associated DNA sequencing (RAD-Seq) of two parents and 22 offspring, we identified
44 anonymous markers putatively linked to the colour (C) and banding (B) loci.
The genotype of eleven of the most promising RAD-Seq markers was independently
validated in the same 22 offspring, then up to a further 146 offspring were genotyped.
The closest RAD-Seq markers scored are within ~0.6 centimorgan (cM) of the C-B
supergene linkage group, with the combined loci together forming a 35.8 cM linkage
map of markers that flank both sides of the Cepaea C-B supergene.

Citation

Richards, P. M., Liu, M. M., Lowe, N., Davey, J. W., Blaxter, M. L., & Davison, A. (2013). RAD-Seq derived markers flank the shell colour and banding loci of the Cepaea nemoralis supergene. Molecular Ecology, 22(11), https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12262

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Apr 17, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 17, 2014
• Journal: Molecular Ecology
• Print ISSN: 0962-1083
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-294X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 11
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12262
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1002041
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.12262/full