Phenotypic plasticity and gene diversity in Pistacia lentiscus L. along environmental gradients in Israel

Intra- and interspecific variability can both ensure ecosystem functions. Generalizing the effects of individual and species assemblages requires understanding how much within and between species trait variation is genetically based or results from phenotypic plasticity. Phenotypic plasticity can indeed lead to rapid and important changes of trait distributions, and in turn community functionality, depending on environmental conditions, which raises a crucial question: could phenotypic plasticity modify the relative importance of intra- and interspecific variability along environmental gradients? We quantified the fundamental niche of five genotypes in monocultures for each of five ciliate species along a wide thermal gradient in standardized conditions to assess the importance of phenotypic plasticity for the level of intraspecific variability compared to differences between species. We showed that phenotypic plasticity strongly influences trait variability and reverses the relative extent of intra- and interspecific variability along the thermal gradient. Our results show that phenotypic plasticity may lead to either increase or decrease of functional trait variability along environmental gradients, making intra- and interspecific variability highly dynamic components of ecological systems.

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Yield stability and phenotypic plasticity of Populus spp. clones growing in environmental gradients: I-yield stability under field conditions

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2020.117995 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 463 ◽

pp. 117995

Author(s):

Javier A. Alvarez ◽

Silvia C. Cortizo ◽

Javier E. Gyenge

Keyword(s):

Phenotypic Plasticity ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Yield Stability ◽

Field Conditions ◽

Populus Spp

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How much do phenotypic plasticity and local genetic variation contribute to phenotypic divergences along environmental gradients in widespread invasive plants? A meta-analysis

Oikos ◽

10.1111/oik.02372 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 125 (7) ◽

pp. 905-917 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Huixuan Liao ◽

Carla M. D'Antonio ◽

Baoming Chen ◽

Qiaoqiao Huang ◽

Shaolin Peng

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Phenotypic Plasticity ◽

Invasive Plants ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Meta Analysis

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Chromatin structure changes in Daphnia populations upon exposure to environmental cues – or – The discovery of Wolterecks “Matrix”

10.1101/824789 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Ronaldo de Carvalho Augusto ◽

Aki Minoda ◽

Oliver Rey ◽

Céline Cosseau ◽

Cristian Chaparro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phenotypic Plasticity ◽

Chromatin Structure ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Gene Mutations ◽

Reaction Norms ◽

Environmental Cues ◽

Global Changes ◽

Open Chromatin ◽

Norm Of Reaction ◽

Structure Changes

AbstractPhenotypic plasticity is an important feature of biological systems that is likely to play a major role in the future adaptation of organisms to the ongoing global changes. It may allow an organism to produce alternative phenotypes in responses to environmental cues. Modifications in the phenotype can be reversible but are sometimes enduring and can even span over generations. The notion of phenotypic plasticity was conceptualized in the early 20th century by Richard Woltereck. He introduced the idea that the combined relations of a phenotypic character and all environmental gradients that influence on it can be defined as “norm of reaction”. Norms of reaction are specific to species and to lineages within species, and they are heritable. He postulated that reaction norms can progressively be shifted over generations depending on the environmental conditions. One of his biological models was the water-flee daphnia. Woltereck proposed that enduring phenotypic modifications and gene mutations could have similar adaptive effects, and he postulated that their molecular bases would be different. Mutations occurred in genes, while enduring modifications were based on something he called the Matrix. He suggested that this matrix (i) was associated with the chromosomes, (ii) that it was heritable, (iii) it changed during development of the organisms, and (iv) that changes of the matrix could be simple chemical substitutions of an unknown, but probably polymeric molecule. We reasoned that the chromatin has all postulated features of this matrix and revisited Woltereck’s classical experiments with daphnia. We developed a robust and rapid ATAC-seq technique that allows for analyzing chromatin of individual daphnia and show here (i) that this technique can be used with minimal expertise in molecular biology, and (ii) we used it to identify open chromatin structure in daphnia exposed to different environmental cues. Our result indicates that chromatin structure changes consistently in daphnia upon this exposure confirming Woltereck’s classical postulate.

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Translating environmental gradients into discontinuous reaction norms via hormone signalling in a polyphenic butterfly

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2010.1560 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 278 (1706) ◽

pp. 789-797 ◽

Cited By ~ 55

Author(s):

Vicencio Oostra ◽

Maaike A. de Jong ◽

Brandon M. Invergo ◽

Fanja Kesbeke ◽

Franziska Wende ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phenotypic Plasticity ◽

Hormonal Regulation ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Reaction Norms ◽

Bicyclus Anynana ◽

Linear Temperature ◽

Linear Temperature Gradient ◽

Adult Fitness ◽

Hormone Signalling

Polyphenisms—the expression of discrete phenotypic morphs in response to environmental variation—are examples of phenotypic plasticity that may potentially be adaptive in the face of predictable environmental heterogeneity. In the butterfly Bicyclus anynana , we examine the hormonal regulation of phenotypic plasticity that involves divergent developmental trajectories into distinct adult morphs for a suite of traits as an adaptation to contrasting seasonal environments. This polyphenism is induced by temperature during development and mediated by ecdysteroid hormones. We reared larvae at separate temperatures spanning the natural range of seasonal environments and measured reaction norms for ecdysteroids, juvenile hormones (JHs) and adult fitness traits. Timing of peak ecdysteroid, but not JH titres, showed a binary response to the linear temperature gradient. Several adult traits (e.g. relative abdomen mass) responded in a similar, dimorphic manner, while others (e.g. wing pattern) showed a linear response. This study demonstrates that hormone dynamics can translate a linear environmental gradient into a discrete signal and, thus, that polyphenic differences between adult morphs can already be programmed at the stage of hormone signalling during development. The range of phenotypic responses observed within the suite of traits indicates both shared regulation and independent, trait-specific sensitivity to the hormone signal.

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