DNA fragility in the parallel evolution of pelvic reduction in stickleback fish

Xie, Kathleen T.; Wang, Guliang; Thompson, Abbey C.; Wucherpfennig, Julia I.; Reimchen, Thomas E.; MacColl, Andrew D. C.; Schluter, Dolph; Bell, Michael A.; Vasquez, Karen M.; Kingsley, David M.

doi:10.1126/science.aan1425

DNA fragility in the parallel evolution of pelvic reduction in stickleback fish

Xie, Kathleen T.; Wang, Guliang; Thompson, Abbey C.; Wucherpfennig, Julia I.; Reimchen, Thomas E.; MacColl, Andrew D. C.; Schluter, Dolph; Bell, Michael A.; Vasquez, Karen M.; Kingsley, David M.

Authors

Kathleen T. Xie

Guliang Wang

Abbey C. Thompson

Julia I. Wucherpfennig

Thomas E. Reimchen

ANDREW MACCOLL ANDREW.MACCOLL@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Evolutionary Ecology

Dolph Schluter

Michael A. Bell

Karen M. Vasquez

David M. Kingsley

Abstract

Evolution generates a remarkable breadth of living forms, but many traits evolve repeatedly, by mechanisms that are still poorly understood. A classic example of repeated evolution is the loss of pelvic hindfins in stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Repeated pelvic loss maps to recurrent deletions of a pelvic enhancer of the Pitx1 gene. Here, we identify molecular features contributing to these recurrent deletions. Pitx1 enhancer sequences form alternative DNA structures in vitro and increase double-strand breaks and deletions in vivo. Enhancer mutability depends on DNA replication direction and is caused by TG-dinucleotide repeats. Modeling shows that elevated mutation rates can influence evolution under demographic conditions relevant for sticklebacks and humans. DNA fragility may thus help explain why the same loci are often used repeatedly during parallel adaptive evolution.

Citation

Xie, K. T., Wang, G., Thompson, A. C., Wucherpfennig, J. I., Reimchen, T. E., MacColl, A. D. C., …Kingsley, D. M. (2019). DNA fragility in the parallel evolution of pelvic reduction in stickleback fish. Science, 363(6422), 81-84. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aan1425

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Nov 28, 2018
Online Publication Date	Jan 3, 2019
Publication Date	Jan 4, 2019
Deposit Date	Jan 9, 2019
Publicly Available Date	Jul 4, 2019
Journal	Science
Print ISSN	0036-8075
Electronic ISSN	1095-9203
Publisher	American Association for the Advancement of Science
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	363
Issue	6422
Pages	81-84
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aan1425
Public URL	https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1457924
Publisher URL	http://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6422/81