Abstract
Color vision is an important characteristic of primates and, intriguingly, Neotropical monkeys are highly polymorphic for this trait. Recent field studies have challenged the conventional view that trichromatic color vision is more adaptive than dichromatic color vision. No study has investigated the pattern of genetic variation in the long to middle wavelength-sensitive (L-M or red-green) opsin gene as compared with that of other genomic regions (neutral references) in wild populations of New World monkeys to look for the signature of natural selection. Here, we report such a study conducted on spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys inhabiting Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. The nucleotide sequence of the L-M opsin gene was more polymorphic than the sequences of the neutral references, although the opsin-gene sequences were not more divergent between the two species than were the sequences of the neutral references. In a coalescence simulation that took into account the observed nucleotide diversity of the neutral references, the Tajima's D value of the L-M opsin gene deviated significantly in a positive direction from the expected range. These results are the first to statistically demonstrate balancing selection acting on the polymorphic L-M opsin gene of New World monkeys. Taking the results of behavioral and genetic studies together, the balancing selection we detected may indicate that coexistence of different color-vision types in the same population, also characteristic of humans, is adaptive.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 453-464 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Molecular Biology and Evolution |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 1 2010 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Cite this
An explicit signature of balancing selection for color-vision variation in new world monkeys. / Hiwatashi, Tomohide; Okabe, Yugo; Tsutsui, Toko; Hiramatsu, Chihiro; Melin, Amanda D.; Oota, Hiroki; Schaffner, Colleen M.; Aureli, Filippo; Fedigan, Linda M.; Innan, Hideki; Kawamura, Shoji.
In: Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol. 27, No. 2, 01.02.2010, p. 453-464.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - An explicit signature of balancing selection for color-vision variation in new world monkeys
AU - Hiwatashi, Tomohide
AU - Okabe, Yugo
AU - Tsutsui, Toko
AU - Hiramatsu, Chihiro
AU - Melin, Amanda D.
AU - Oota, Hiroki
AU - Schaffner, Colleen M.
AU - Aureli, Filippo
AU - Fedigan, Linda M.
AU - Innan, Hideki
AU - Kawamura, Shoji
PY - 2010/2/1
Y1 - 2010/2/1
N2 - Color vision is an important characteristic of primates and, intriguingly, Neotropical monkeys are highly polymorphic for this trait. Recent field studies have challenged the conventional view that trichromatic color vision is more adaptive than dichromatic color vision. No study has investigated the pattern of genetic variation in the long to middle wavelength-sensitive (L-M or red-green) opsin gene as compared with that of other genomic regions (neutral references) in wild populations of New World monkeys to look for the signature of natural selection. Here, we report such a study conducted on spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys inhabiting Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. The nucleotide sequence of the L-M opsin gene was more polymorphic than the sequences of the neutral references, although the opsin-gene sequences were not more divergent between the two species than were the sequences of the neutral references. In a coalescence simulation that took into account the observed nucleotide diversity of the neutral references, the Tajima's D value of the L-M opsin gene deviated significantly in a positive direction from the expected range. These results are the first to statistically demonstrate balancing selection acting on the polymorphic L-M opsin gene of New World monkeys. Taking the results of behavioral and genetic studies together, the balancing selection we detected may indicate that coexistence of different color-vision types in the same population, also characteristic of humans, is adaptive.
AB - Color vision is an important characteristic of primates and, intriguingly, Neotropical monkeys are highly polymorphic for this trait. Recent field studies have challenged the conventional view that trichromatic color vision is more adaptive than dichromatic color vision. No study has investigated the pattern of genetic variation in the long to middle wavelength-sensitive (L-M or red-green) opsin gene as compared with that of other genomic regions (neutral references) in wild populations of New World monkeys to look for the signature of natural selection. Here, we report such a study conducted on spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys inhabiting Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. The nucleotide sequence of the L-M opsin gene was more polymorphic than the sequences of the neutral references, although the opsin-gene sequences were not more divergent between the two species than were the sequences of the neutral references. In a coalescence simulation that took into account the observed nucleotide diversity of the neutral references, the Tajima's D value of the L-M opsin gene deviated significantly in a positive direction from the expected range. These results are the first to statistically demonstrate balancing selection acting on the polymorphic L-M opsin gene of New World monkeys. Taking the results of behavioral and genetic studies together, the balancing selection we detected may indicate that coexistence of different color-vision types in the same population, also characteristic of humans, is adaptive.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=74549200294&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/molbev/msp262
DO - 10.1093/molbev/msp262
M3 - Article
C2 - 19861643
AN - SCOPUS:74549200294
VL - 27
SP - 453
EP - 464
JO - Molecular Biology and Evolution
JF - Molecular Biology and Evolution
SN - 0737-4038
IS - 2
ER -