Genetic basis of fitness differences in natural populations

Abstract

Genomics profoundly influences current biology. One of many exciting consequences of this revolution is the potential for identifying and studying the genetic basis of those traits affecting fitness that are key to natural selection. Recent studies using a multitude of genomic approaches have established such genotype-phenotype relationships in natural populations, giving new insight into the genetic architecture of quantitative variation. In parallel, an emerging understanding of the quantitative genetics of fitness variation in the wild means that we are poised to see a synthesis of ecological and molecular approaches in evolutionary biology.