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Genetic basis of fitness differences in natural populations

Nature volume 452, pages 169–175 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Genomics profoundly influences current biology. One of many exciting consequences of this revolution is the potential for identifying and studying the genetic basis of those traits affecting fitness that are key to natural selection. Recent studies using a multitude of genomic approaches have established such genotype–phenotype relationships in natural populations, giving new insight into the genetic architecture of quantitative variation. In parallel, an emerging understanding of the quantitative genetics of fitness variation in the wild means that we are poised to see a synthesis of ecological and molecular approaches in evolutionary biology.

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Figure 1: Linking phenotypes to genotypes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council (H.E.) and by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship and an Erskine Fellowship (B.C.S).

Author Contributions H.E. and B.C.S. wrote the paper together.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden,

    Hans Ellegren

  2. Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK,

    Ben C. Sheldon

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  1. Hans Ellegren
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Correspondence to Hans Ellegren or Ben C. Sheldon.

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Ellegren, H., Sheldon, B. Genetic basis of fitness differences in natural populations. Nature 452, 169–175 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06737

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