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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".
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)