Abstract
Feralisation occurs when a domestic population recolonizes the wild, escaping its previous restricted environment, and has been considered as the reverse of domestication. We have previously shown that Kauai Island's feral chickens are a highly variable and admixed population. Here we map selective sweeps in feral Kauai chickens using whole-genome sequencing. The detected sweeps were mostly unique to feralisation and distinct to those selected for during domestication. To ascribe potential phenotypic functions to these genes we utilize a laboratory-controlled equivalent to the Kauai population—an advanced intercross between Red Junglefowl and domestic layer birds that has been used previously for both QTL and expression QTL studies. Certain sweep genes exhibit significant correlations with comb mass, maternal brooding behaviour and fecundity. Our analyses indicate that adaptations to feral and domestic environments involve different genomic regions and feral chickens show some evidence of adaptation at genes associated with sexual selection and reproduction.
Highlights
Feralisation occurs when a domestic population recolonizes the wild, escaping its previous restricted environment, and has been considered as the reverse of domestication
We have previously shown that the Kauai chicken population is admixed between domestic chickens and wild Red Junglefowl, using evidence from mitochondrial genotypes, vocalizations and plumage measurements from birds sampled at eight different locations[21]
The Kauai sample had higher pooled heterozygosity than the domestic pools. This is consistent with previous analyses of genetic and phenotypic variation in Kauai chickens, all of which suggest an admixed population of both wild and domestic ancestry[21]
Summary
Feralisation occurs when a domestic population recolonizes the wild, escaping its previous restricted environment, and has been considered as the reverse of domestication. In the case of the wild Red Junglefowl (the progenitor of the modern domestic chicken), a wide variety of both natural and sexual selection has been shown to act on this species, with effects on multiple diverse traits ranging from behaviour[6,7] and morphology[8,9] to comb mass and plumage[10,11,12,13]. Plumage traits were found to be variable, with birds ranging from the classic Red Junglefowl plumage (red and green feathers), to those with white flecks and some other more unique patterning in a small number of individuals (for example, mostly white or black) These results all indicate that the feral chickens present in Kauai are primarily of domestic origin, but with admixture from Red Junglefowl population(s)
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