Genetic Causes and Consequences of Sympatric Morph Divergence in Salmonidae: A Search for Mechanisms

S. J. Salisbury, D. E. Ruzzante

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Repeatedly and recently evolved sympatric morphs exhibiting consistent phenotypic differences provide natural experimental replicates of speciation. Because such morphs are observed frequently in Salmonidae, this clade provides a rare opportunity to uncover the genomic mechanisms underpinning speciation. Such insight is also critical for conserving salmonid diversity, the loss of which could have significant ecological and economic consequences. Our review suggests that genetic differentiation among sympatric morphs is largely nonparallel apart from a few key genes that may be critical for consistently driving morph differentiation. We discuss alternative levels of parallelism likely underlying consistent morph differentiation and identify several factors that may temper this incipient speciation between sympatric morphs, including glacial history and contemporary selective pressures. Our synthesis demonstrates that salmonids are useful for studying speciation and poses additional research questions to be answered by future study of this family.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)81-106
Number of pages26
JournalAnnual Review of Animal Biosciences
Volume10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Annual Reviews Inc.. All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Genetics
  • General Veterinary

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

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