A recurrent regulatory change underlying altered expression and Wnt response of the stickleback armor plates gene EDA

Armor plate changes in sticklebacks are a classic example of repeated adaptive evolution. Previous studies identified ectodysplasin (EDA) gene as the major locus controlling recurrent plate loss in freshwater fish, though the causative DNA alterations were not known. Here we show that freshwater EDA alleles have cis-acting regulatory changes that reduce expression in developing plates and spines. An identical T → G base pair change is found in...