Meeting Abstract
P3.46 Wednesday, Jan. 6 Inheritance of Complex Color Patterns in Lake Malawi Cichlid Fishes BRZOZOWSKI, Frances J.V.*; ROSCOE, Jennifer; WEINREICH, Brian ; WAGNER, Fabian ; ALBERTSON, Dr. R. Craig; Syracuse University ; Syracuse University ; Syracuse University ; Syracuse University ; Syracuse University fjbrzozo@syr.edu
African cichlids are renowned for their propensity to speciate at extremely fast rates. Variation in color patterning is thought to contribute to these speciation events through sexual selection. We are currently working to characterize the genetic basis of color variation in two Lake Malawi cichlid species. Outbreed individuals of Labeotropheus fuelleborni and Tropheops red cheek were used to produce F2 hybrids. Patterns of inheritance indicate that while many color traits are segregating in complex ways, others have a relatively simple genetic basis (i.e., one gene). We also observed transgressive color patterns in the F2 that mimic variation in natural populations of cichlids, consistent with the hypothesis that the sorting of alleles between cichlid species can be an important mechanism through which phenotypic variation is generated. Future work will focus on characterizing the full spectrum of this variation using QTL analysis, which will provide a better understanding of the genetic basis of traits important to the evolutionary success of this group.
