Y-LINKED QUANTITATIVE TRAITS IN GUPPIES (Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859)

Abstract

Guppy males exhibit many elaborate secondary sexual characters, and in the wild, populations exhibit extreme polymorphic characters. Several of these characters have been shown to be attractive to females: conspicuous coloration, especially bright orange and black spots, large caudal fins and body size, high courtship display rate and so on. Knowing the Y-linkage of many quantitative traits, the work of selection of domesticated strains of guppy is easier. Excepting the body-base colour and other one-locus sex-linked but recombining colour patterns, the characters of interest in guppy culture can be selected on father and sons only.