Host-parasite Genomics. Genetic Basis and Evolutionary Implication of Cuckoo Egg Mimicry

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jochen B. W. Wolf
• Subject Area: Evolution, Anthropology ; Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 413534098

Coevolution is a key evolutionary process with important consequences for trait evolution and species diversification. Avian brood parasites and their hosts are among the most prominent examples of coevolutionary interactions, and have been extensively studied on the phenotypic level. Yet, little is known about the genetic basis underlying the signalling traits and the population genetic consequences of the species involved. The common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, is one of the most prominent examples of an obligate generalist parasite. Across a wide distribution range the species has specialized on variety of host resulting in polymorphism of mimetic egg phenotypes counterfeiting host egg signatures with stunning precision (host races or gentes). Here, we propose to unravel the genetic basis of the various mimetic egg phenotypes. Genome-wide analyses across allopatric and sympatric host races will be used to clarify whether maternal inheritance, as recently suggested for the immaculate blue egg race, is a general mechanism or whether bi-parental and hemizgyous genomic components contribute to host race formation. Evolutionary genetic analyses will shed light on the strength and mode of selection induced by host-parasite interaction, the degree of host-based population divergence and differential introgression. This project has potential to not only resolve a long-standing riddle of cuckoo egg mimicry that has intrigued naturalists for several centuries, but more generally contribute to our understanding of host-parasite dynamics at the molecular level.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants