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Science 18 August 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5789, pp. 963 - 966
DOI: 10.1126/science.1129161
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Reports

Evolutionary Paths Underlying Flower Color Variation in Antirrhinum

Annabel C. Whibley,1* Nicolas B. Langlade,1* Christophe Andalo,2 Andrew I. Hanna,3 Andrew Bangham,3 Christophe Thébaud,2 Enrico Coen1{dagger}

To understand evolutionary paths connecting diverse biological forms, we defined a three-dimensional genotypic space separating two flower color morphs of Antirrhinum. A hybrid zone between morphs showed a steep cline specifically at genes controlling flower color differences, indicating that these loci are under selection. Antirrhinum species with diverse floral phenotypes formed a U-shaped cloud within the genotypic space. We propose that this cloud defines an evolutionary path that allows flower color to evolve while circumventing less-adaptive regions. Hybridization between morphs located in different arms of the U-shaped path yields low-fitness genotypes, accounting for the observed steep clines at hybrid zones.

1 Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
2 Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, UMR 5174 CNRS–Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse Cédex 9, France.
3 School of Computing Sciences, University of East Anglia, Earlham Road, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: enrico.coen{at}bbsrc.ac.uk

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Comment on "Evolutionary Paths Underlying Flower Color Variation in Antirrhinum".
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Response to Comment on "Evolutionary Paths Underlying Flower Color Variation in Antirrhinum".
A. C. Whibley, N. B. Langlade, C. Andalo, A. I. Hanna, A. Bangham, C. Thebaud, and E. Coen (2007)
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