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Wings, Feathers, flight: using comparative genomics to link genotype and phenotype in birds

Connecting genotype and phenotype is of ongoing interest in evolutionary biology.
Comparative genomics is now allowing us to map genes for traits using
phylogenetic approaches (‘PhyloG2P’), which leverage phenotypically unique
lineages or convergent evolution to provide surprisingly precise mapping of loci
underlying evolutionarily labile traits. Two examples focusing on traits such as the
origin of feathers or loss of flight reveal a strong role for non-coding regulatory
evolution in the origin of key adaptations of birds. I also introduce two statistical
models for associating rates of genome change and change in binary or
continuous traits using phylogenetic trees. Such models will improve our power to
detect associations between genome and phenotype evolution.

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