A mosaic of modular variation at a single gene underpins convergent plumage coloration

Lutgen D. Peona V. Chase M.A. Kakhki N.A. Lammers F. de Souza S.G. Ducrest A.-L. Burri M. Andriopoulos P. Lukhele S.M. Moysi M. Yohannes E. Abbasov A. Albayrak T. Aliabadian M. Auchli N. Bontzorlos V. Christoforou I. Copete J.L. Fulco E. Garcia J.T. Javakhishvili Z. Kazazou A. Lei F. Liu Y. Paposhvili N. Patchett R. Péter Á. Ritter R. Sándor A.D. Schneider F. Shurulinkov P. Sklyarenko S. Stumberger B. Tagiyev A. Uboldi A. Vogiatzis N. Taborsak-Lines F. Gruselius J. Yao L. Peichel C.L. Suh A. Gagnaire P.-A. Kirschel A.N.G. Schweizer M. Schielzeth H. Burri R.
16 October 2025

Science (New York, N.Y.)
2025 #390 Issue 6770 eado8005 pp.

The reshuffling of genomic variation from multiple origins is an important contributor to phenotypic diversification, yet insights into the evolutionary trajectories of this combinatorial process and their interplay with genetic architecture remain scarce. We show that convergent plumage color evolution in wheatears involves a monogenic architecture with modular variation introgressed at the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) locus. Introgression of a new transposable element insertion and linked protein-coding variation underpin a transspecific throat color polymorphism, which stable isotopes suggest is associated with alternative foraging niches. Cointrogression of linked regulatory ASIP variation resulted in mantle color convergence in one species, whereas convergent color evolution at the genus level required new variation. Our results demonstrate evolutionary trajectories from introgressed variation realized within the constraints of a monogenic architecture.

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Division of Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland
Department of Population Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
Department of Genetics and Bioinformatics, Swedish Natural History Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Zoology, Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History, Stuttgart, Germany
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Département dEcologie et Evolution, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Section of Ecology and Systematics, Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Department of Bioecology, Baku State University, Baku, Azerbaijan
Science Faculty, Department of Biology, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey
Department of Biology & Zoological Innovations Research Department, Institute of Applied Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
TYTO - Association for the Management and Conservation of Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems, Larisa, Greece
Paphos, Cyprus
Biblioteca de Ciència i Tecnologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
Studio Naturalistico MILVUS, Altamura, Italy
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Ciudad Real, Spain
Center for Wildlife Disease Ecology, Institute of Ecology, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Attica Zoological Park, Athens, Greece
Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
Department of Parasitology and Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
HUN-REN-UVMB Climate Change: New Blood-Sucking Parasites and Vector-Borne Pathogens Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
Independent researcher, Hauteville, Switzerland
National Museum of Natural History Sofia, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), Almaty, Kazakhstan
Independent researcher, Cirkulane, Slovenia
Department of Zoology and Physiology, Baku State University, Baku, Azerbaijan
Applied Zoology Center, Institute of Zoology, Ministry of Science and Education, Baku, Azerbaijan
Science for Life Laboratory, Division of Gene Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum A. Koenig, Bonn, Germany
Bonn Institute for Organismic Biology (BIOB) - Animal Biodiversity, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
ISEM, Université Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
Natural History Museum Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Division of Population Genetics, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

Division of Evolutionary Ecology
Swiss Ornithological Institute
Department of Population Ecology
Department of Genetics and Bioinformatics
Department of Zoology
Department of Biological Sciences
Département dEcologie et Evolution
Section of Ecology and Systematics
Department of Bioecology
Science Faculty
Department of Biology & Zoological Innovations Research Department
TYTO - Association for the Management and Conservation of Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems
Paphos
Biblioteca de Ciència i Tecnologia
Studio Naturalistico MILVUS
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC)
Center for Wildlife Disease Ecology
Attica Zoological Park
Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol
Centre for Biological Diversity
Department of Parasitology and Zoology
Department of Forest Sciences
Babes-Bolyai University
HUN-REN-UVMB Climate Change: New Blood-Sucking Parasites and Vector-Borne Pathogens Research Group
Independent researcher
National Museum of Natural History Sofia
Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK)
Independent researcher
Department of Zoology and Physiology
Applied Zoology Center
Science for Life Laboratory
Science for Life Laboratory
Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research
Bonn Institute for Organismic Biology (BIOB) - Animal Biodiversity
Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology
ISEM
Natural History Museum Bern
Division of Population Genetics
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)

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