Temperature is an important climatic factor that shapes the distribution
of eurythermal species. Thermal adaptation of species is important to
both evolutionary biology and climate-change biology because it
frequently leads to latitudinal gradients of various phenotypes among
populations. Spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus) has a broad
latitudinal distribution range along the marginal seas of the Northwest
Pacific, providing an excellent teleost model for climate adaptation
studies. We generated over 8.57 million SNP loci using whole genome
re-sequencing from 100 samples collected at 14 geographic loci. We built
the phylogeographic structure and demographic history of L.
maculatus and determined sea surface temperature as the key
environmental factor and major driving force for genetic divergence and
local adaptation. We also identified distinct selective signatures and
functional genes underlying adaptive mechanisms and ecological tradeoffs
in the southernmost and northernmost populations inhabiting distinct
climatic and latitudinal zones. The results offer an opportunity to
better understand the genetic basis of the phenotypic variation in
eurythermal fishes inhabiting different climatic regions.
Genome-wide evolutionary signatures of climate adaptation in spotted sea bass inhabiting different latitudinal regions
