[ **up: [[Genetics]]** ] --- # Supergene > A supergene is defined as a set of genes on a chromosome that are closely linked and therefore inherited together.[^1] [[2025-0313. Supergenes, 'working under antagonistic selection, can drive the evolution of alternative strategies that maximize opposite ends of a life-history continuum.'|Supergenes, 'working under antagonistic selection, can drive the evolution of alternative strategies that maximize opposite ends of a life-history continuum.']][^2] --- ## Supergenes in Action ### Seaweed fly [[2025-0313. Supergenes, 'working under antagonistic selection, can drive the evolution of alternative strategies that maximize opposite ends of a life-history continuum.'|'In the seaweed fly (Coelopa frigida), all populations are polymorphic for a large inversion (~1000 genes) that has suppressed recombination, resulting in substantial differentiation between the haplotypes. This polymorphism mediates a life-history trade-off in that one haplotype favors faster larval development and the other reproductive output (Mérot et al., 2018, 2020b).']][^3] ### Rainbow trout [[2025-0313. Supergenes, 'working under antagonistic selection, can drive the evolution of alternative strategies that maximize opposite ends of a life-history continuum.'|'Similarly, in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), alternative reproductive phenotypes segregate with a large inversion that mediates a trade-off between early maturation and later fecundity (Pearse et al., 2014, 2019).']][^4] [^1]: ‘Supergene’, *Trends in Genetics*, ScienceDirect, 2017, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/supergene. [^2]: . L. Maney, et al., ‘[[Maney, et al. ‘Inside the supergene of the bird with four sexes’, 2020.|Inside the supergene of the bird with four sexes]]’, *Hormones and Behavior* 126 (2020), p. 14. [^3]: D. L. Maney, et al., ‘[[Maney, et al. ‘Inside the supergene of the bird with four sexes’, 2020.|Inside the supergene of the bird with four sexes]]’, *Hormones and Behavior* 126 (2020), p. 14. [^4]: D. L. Maney, et al., ‘[[Maney, et al. ‘Inside the supergene of the bird with four sexes’, 2020.|Inside the supergene of the bird with four sexes]]’, *Hormones and Behavior* 126 (2020), p. 14.