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Adaptive spread of a sexually selected syndrome eliminates an ancient color polymorphism in wall lizards

Uller, Tobias LU ; Feiner, Nathalie LU ; Sacchi, Roberto ; Zuffi, Marco ; Scali, Stefano ; Pafilis, Panayiotis ; Plavos, Konstantinos ; Abalos, Javier LU orcid ; Andrade, Pedro and Aguilar, Prem , et al. (2026) In Science 391(6780). p.64-68
Abstract

Genetically determined color morphs are found in many animals. Polymorphism can be maintained by social selection if competitive interactions allow each morph to increase in frequency when rare. This reliance on negative frequency-dependent selection should make color polymorphism vulnerable to the appearance of novel phenotypes that disrupt competitive interactions among morphs. We show that the origin and adaptive spread of a sexually selected syndrome in common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) selectively eliminates alleles coding for alternative color morphs that have been maintained for millions of years. The results demonstrate how the arrival of a novel phenotype can disrupt balancing selection, providing a link between rapid... (More)

Genetically determined color morphs are found in many animals. Polymorphism can be maintained by social selection if competitive interactions allow each morph to increase in frequency when rare. This reliance on negative frequency-dependent selection should make color polymorphism vulnerable to the appearance of novel phenotypes that disrupt competitive interactions among morphs. We show that the origin and adaptive spread of a sexually selected syndrome in common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) selectively eliminates alleles coding for alternative color morphs that have been maintained for millions of years. The results demonstrate how the arrival of a novel phenotype can disrupt balancing selection, providing a link between rapid phenotypic evolution and the loss of color polymorphisms.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Science
volume
391
issue
6780
pages
5 pages
publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:105026513755
  • pmid:41477877
ISSN
0036-8075
DOI
10.1126/science.adx3708
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2026 the authors, some rights reserved;
id
8d269e60-4aed-4dfc-85fa-44057dd3d65a
date added to LUP
2026-03-23 10:43:17
date last changed
2026-04-06 11:05:54
@article{8d269e60-4aed-4dfc-85fa-44057dd3d65a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Genetically determined color morphs are found in many animals. Polymorphism can be maintained by social selection if competitive interactions allow each morph to increase in frequency when rare. This reliance on negative frequency-dependent selection should make color polymorphism vulnerable to the appearance of novel phenotypes that disrupt competitive interactions among morphs. We show that the origin and adaptive spread of a sexually selected syndrome in common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) selectively eliminates alleles coding for alternative color morphs that have been maintained for millions of years. The results demonstrate how the arrival of a novel phenotype can disrupt balancing selection, providing a link between rapid phenotypic evolution and the loss of color polymorphisms.</p>}},
  author       = {{Uller, Tobias and Feiner, Nathalie and Sacchi, Roberto and Zuffi, Marco and Scali, Stefano and Pafilis, Panayiotis and Plavos, Konstantinos and Abalos, Javier and Andrade, Pedro and Aguilar, Prem and Salvi, Daniele and While, Geoffrey M.}},
  issn         = {{0036-8075}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6780}},
  pages        = {{64--68}},
  publisher    = {{American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}},
  series       = {{Science}},
  title        = {{Adaptive spread of a sexually selected syndrome eliminates an ancient color polymorphism in wall lizards}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adx3708}},
  doi          = {{10.1126/science.adx3708}},
  volume       = {{391}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}