Abstract
This proposal will exploit recent discoveries made under NERC EG project QTL mapping in natural populations using linkage and linkage disequilibrium to address a major question in evolutionary genetics: are negative genetic correlations due to pleiotropy at a single locus, or linkage disequilibrium between closely linked loci? We have identified a negative genetic correlation for fitness in the vicinity of the TYRP1 gene underlying a coat colour polymorphism in Soay sheep. We propose to characterise sequence diversity and patterns of linkage disequilibrium in an ~600 Kbp region flanking TYRP1 in order to dissect the molecular basis of the genetic correlation.
United Kingdom