A quantitative trait locus for recognition of foreign eggs in the host of a brood parasite

Avian brood parasites reduce the reproductive output of their hosts and thereby select for defence mechanisms such as ejection of parasitic eggs. Such defence mechanisms simultaneously select for counter‐defences in brood parasites, causing a coevolutionary arms race. Although coevolutionary models...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of evolutionary biology 2006-03, Vol.19 (2), p.543-550
Main Authors: MARTÍN‐GÁLVEZ, D., SOLER, J. J., MARTÍNEZ, J. G., KRUPA, A. P., RICHARD, M., SOLER, M., MØLLER, A. P., BURKE, T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal reproduction
Animals
avian inter‐specific brood parasitism
Behavior, Animal
Biological variation
Birds
Birds - genetics
Clamator glandarius
coevolution
DNA - blood
DNA - genetics
egg rejection
Evolution, Molecular
Female
Gene Frequency
Gene loci
Genetic diversity
genetic marker
Genotype
host defences
Host-Parasite Interactions
Microsatellite Repeats - genetics
microsatellites
Oviposition
Ovum - physiology
Parasites
Pica pica
Polymorphism, Genetic
Quantitative Trait Loci
Recognition (Psychology)
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Summary:Avian brood parasites reduce the reproductive output of their hosts and thereby select for defence mechanisms such as ejection of parasitic eggs. Such defence mechanisms simultaneously select for counter‐defences in brood parasites, causing a coevolutionary arms race. Although coevolutionary models assume that defences and counter‐defences are genetically influenced, this has never been demonstrated for brood parasites. Here, we give strong evidence for genetic differences between ejector and nonejectors, which could allow the study of such host defence at the genetic level, as well as studies of maintenance of genetic variation in defences. Briefly, we found that magpies, that are the main host of the great spotted cuckoo in Europe, have alleles of one microsatellite locus (Ase64) that segregate between accepters and rejecters of experimental parasitic eggs. Furthermore, differences in ejection rate among host populations exploited by the brood parasite covaried significantly with the genetic distance for this locus.
ISSN:1010-061X
1420-9101
DOI:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01002.x