Dominance and multi-locus interaction

Trends Genet. 2024 Mar 6:S0168-9525(23)00262-7. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.12.003. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTDominance is usually considered a constant value that describes the relative difference in fitness or phenotype between heterozygotes and the average of homozygotes at a focal polymorphic locus. However, the observed dominance can vary with the genetic background of the focal locus. Here, alleles at other loci modify the observed phenotype through position effects or dominance modifiers that are sometimes associated with pathogen resistance, lineage, sex, or mating type. Theoretical models have illustrated how variable dominance appears in the context of multi-locus interaction (epistasis). Here, we review empirical evidence for variable dominance and how the observed patterns may be captured by proposed epistatic models. We highlight how integrating epistasis and dominance is crucial for comprehensively understanding adaptation and speciation.PMID:38453542 | DOI:10.1016/j.tig.2023.12.003

Source: Trends in Genetics : TIG - March 7, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Juan Li Claudia Bank Source Type: research