A bird's eye view of a deleterious recessive allele. (July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ekblom, Robert
• Editors: Hays, Graeme
• Is Part Of: Journal of animal ecology. Volume 85:Number 4(2016:Jul.)
• Page Start: 855
• Page End: 856
• Publication Date: 2016-07
• Subjects: Animal ecology -- Periodicals; 591.7
• DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12514
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-8790

Abstract

Abstract : In the endangered Scottish chough ( Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax ) population, a lethal blindness syndrome is found to be caused by a deleterious recessive allele. Photo: Gordon Yates. In Focus: Trask, A.E., Bignal, E.M., McCracken, D.I., Monaghan, P., Piertney, S.B. & Reid, J.M. (2016) Evidence of the phenotypic expression of a lethal recessive allele under inbreeding in a wild population of conservation concern. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85, 879–891. In this issue of Journal of Animal Ecology, Trask et al . (2016 ) report on a strange, lethal, blindness that regularly affects chicks of an endangered bird population. The authors show that the inheritance mode of this blindness disease precisely matches the expectations of a recessive deleterious mutation. Intriguingly, there is also an indication that the disease‐causing variant might be maintained in the population by balancing selection, due to a selective advantage for heterozygotes. Could this finding have consequences for conservation actions implemented for the population? Abstract : In the endangered Scottish chough ( Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax ) population, a lethal blindness syndrome is found to be caused by a deleterious recessive allele. Photo: Gordon Yates.