Abstract
BackgroundWhilst adaptive facultative sex allocation has been widely studied at the phenotypic level across a broad range of organisms, we still know remarkably little about its genetic architecture. Here, we explore the genome-wide basis of sex ratio variation in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis, perhaps the best studied organism in terms of sex allocation, and well known for its response to local mate competition.ResultsWe performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for single foundress sex ratios using iso-female lines derived from the recently developed outbred N. vitripennis laboratory strain HVRx. The iso-female lines capture a sample of the genetic variation in HVRx and we present them as the first iteration of the Nasonia vitripennis Genome Reference Panel (NVGRP 1.0). This panel provides an assessment of the standing genetic variation for sex ratio in the study population. Using the NVGRP, we discovered a cluster of 18 linked SNPs, encompassing 9 annotated loci associated with sex ratio variation. Furthermore, we found evidence that sex ratio has a shared genetic basis with clutch size on three different chromosomes.ConclusionsOur approach provides a thorough description of the quantitative genetic basis of sex ratio variation in Nasonia at the genome level and reveals a number of inter-related candidate loci underlying sex allocation regulation.
Highlights
Whilst adaptive facultative sex allocation has been widely studied at the phenotypic level across a broad range of organisms, we still know remarkably little about its genetic architecture
The iso-female lines capture a sample of the genetic variation in HVRx and we present them as the first iteration of the Nasonia vitripennis Genome Reference Panel (NVGRP 1.0)
We present the first iteration of the Nasonia vitripennis Genetic Reference Panel as a community resource for the analysis of complex traits
Summary
Whilst adaptive facultative sex allocation has been widely studied at the phenotypic level across a broad range of organisms, we still know remarkably little about its genetic architecture. We explore the genome-wide basis of sex ratio variation in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis, perhaps the best studied organism in terms of sex allocation, and well known for its response to local mate competition. Theoretical predictions of optimal resource allocation to male and female offspring in response to environmental conditions are supported by a wealth of empirical data [1, 4,5,6,7,8,9]. This is true for local mate competition theory [10, 11]. Sex allocation is a well-characterised plastic trait, offering the opportunity to dissect the genetic basis of plasticity
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