The Genetic Basis of Migration

Dear colleagues,

Many species of animals undertake long-distance migrations to take advantage of seasonal resources not present in their natal areas. Although the underlying ecological reasons why animals undergo migration have been known for some time, far less is known concerning the molecular mechanisms responsible for large-scale changes in the morphology, physiology, and behavior of migratory individuals. Quantitative genetics studies on several species of migratory birds, insects, and fish have demonstrated that many migratory related traits have a substantial additive genetic basis. However, few studies have determined the specific genes responsible for these traits. This lack of information is due, in part, to migratory species being nonmodel organisms with relatively limited genomic and genetic information, and the sometimes difficult task of separating migrants from resident conspecifics. This latter problem is especially of concern for species that exhibit partial migration where not all individuals in a population migrate. The advent of Next Generation Sequencing and the ushering in of the “omics” era has made it easier to obtain genome wide data in nonmodel organisms. This has led to a recent increase in the number of studies that have begun to dissect the genetic architecture of migratory related traits, and suggests polygenic patterns of inheritance. However, the genetic basis of migratory traits appears to be complex and governed by polymorphisms in the genome as well as changes in RNA expression and epigenetics.               

Recent studies have made progress in uncovering how, and to what extent, genetics influences migration and migratory related traits; however, most studies have focused on a handful of taxa, making it difficult to compare genes, alleles, and molecular mechanisms contributing to migration among taxa. To this end, this Special Issue aims to collate a selection of manuscripts that utilize “omics” techniques to determine the genetic basis of migratory-related traits in nonmodel organisms. Studies that utilize a variety of genetic techniques including but not limited to GWAS, transcriptomics/RNA-seq, and epigenetics will be considered.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Matt Hale
Guest Editor

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• Migration
• OMICS (genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics)
• Epigenetics
• Nonmodel species
• Seasonal movement
• Partial migration