Inversion frequencies and phenotypic effects are modulated by the environment

AbstractUnderstanding how environmental variation drives phenotypic diversification within species is a major objective in evolutionary biology. The seaweed fly Coelopa frigida provides an excellent model for the study of genetically driven phenotypes because it carries an α/β inversion polymorphism that affects body size. Coelopa frigida inhabits highly variable beds of decomposing seaweed on the coast in Scandinavia thus providing a suitable test ground to investigate the genetic effects of substrate on both the frequency of the inversion (directional selection) and on the phenotype (genotype x environment effects). Here we use a reciprocal transplant experiment to test the effect of the α/β inversion on body size traits and development time across four suitable natural breeding substrates from the clinal distribution. We show that while development time is unaffected by GxE effects, both the frequency of the inversion and the relative phenotypic effects of the inversion on body size differ between population x substrate combinations. This indicates that the environment modulates the fitness as well as the phenotypic effects of the inversion karyotypes. It further suggests that the inversion may have accumulated qualitatively different mutations in different populations that interact with the environment. Together our results are consistent with the idea that the inversion in C. frigida likely evolves via a combination of local mutation, GxE effects, and differential fitness of inversion karyotypes in heterogeneous environments.

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An experimental approach to understanding elevation limits in a montane terrestrial salamander, plethodon montanus

10.1101/131573 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nicholas M. Caruso ◽

Jeremy F. Jacobs ◽

Leslie J. Rissler

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Transplant Experiment ◽

Biotic Factors ◽

Reciprocal Transplant Experiment ◽

Abiotic Environment ◽

Environmental Suitability ◽

Lower Elevation ◽

Survival And Growth ◽

Growth And Reproduction

AbstractUnderstanding the abiotic and biotic factors that determine the limits to species’ range is an essential goal in ecology, biogeography, evolutionary biology, and conservation biology. Moreover, predictions of shifts in species’ distributions under future changes in climate can be improved through understanding the spatial variation in survival, growth, and reproduction. A long-standing hypothesis postulates that, for Northern Hemisphere species, abiotic factors like temperature limit northern and/or higher elevation extents, while biotic factors like competition limit the southern and/or lower elevation range edges; though amphibians may not follow this general trend. Therefore, we combined environmental suitability models and a reciprocal transplant experiment across an elevational gradient to explore the role of the abiotic environment on the range limits of a montane salamander (Plethodon montanus). We first determined suitability of the abiotic environment for P. montanus, under current (1960 – 2000) and future (2050) climate scenarios. Second, we collected juveniles from each of three elevations and transplanted them within mesocosms such that each origin population was represented within each transplant location and vice-versa. We found that environmental suitability in 2050 decreased throughout the range compared to current predictions, especially at lower elevations. Additionally, we found that individuals’ starting body condition and transplant location were important predictors of survival, growth, and reproduction condition; importantly, individuals transplanted to low elevation had lower survival and growth rates compared to those moved to mid or high elevations. Our study provides experimental support that the abiotic environment limits the lower elevation distribution of P. montanus and, unfortunately, our results also paint a possible bleak future for this species and likely other montane terrestrial plethodontids. The abiotic environment, which will become increasingly limited under future changes in climate, was found to have more influence on survival and growth than population identity.

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Multi-omics analyses on Kandelia obovata reveal its response to transplanting and genetic differentiation among populations

BMC Plant Biology ◽

10.1186/s12870-021-03123-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yuze Zhao ◽

Yifan Zhong ◽

Congting Ye ◽

Pingping Liang ◽

Xiaobao Pan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Differentiation ◽

Lignin Biosynthesis ◽

Common Garden ◽

Dominant Strategy ◽

Transplant Experiment ◽

Kandelia Obovata ◽

Reciprocal Transplant Experiment ◽

Ecological Experiments ◽

Genome Bisulfite Sequencing ◽

Different Populations

Abstract Background Restoration through planting is the dominant strategy to conserve mangrove ecosystems. However, many of the plantations fail to survive. Site and seeding selection matters for planting. The process of afforestation, where individuals were planted in a novel environment, is essentially human-controlled transplanting events. Trying to deepen and expand the understanding of the effects of transplanting on plants, we have performed a seven-year-long reciprocal transplant experiment on Kandelia obovata along a latitudinal gradient. Results Combined phenotypic analyses and next-generation sequencing, we found phenotypic discrepancies among individuals from different populations in the common garden and genetic differentiation among populations. The central population with abundant genetic diversity and high phenotypic plasticity had a wide plantable range. But its biomass was reduced after being transferred to other latitudes. The suppressed expression of lignin biosynthesis genes revealed by RNA-seq was responsible for the biomass reduction. Moreover, using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, we observed modification of DNA methylation in MADS-box genes that involved in the regulation of flowering time, which might contribute to the adaptation to new environments. Conclusions Taking advantage of classical ecological experiments as well as multi-omics analyses, our work observed morphology differences and genetic differentiation among different populations of K. obovata, offering scientific advice for the development of restoration strategy with long-term efficacy, also explored phenotypic, transcript, and epigenetic responses of plants to transplanting events between latitudes.

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Integrated miRNA and transcriptome profiling to explore the molecular determinism of convergent adaptation to corn in two lepidopteran pests of agriculture

BMC Genomics ◽

10.1186/s12864-021-07905-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sylvie Gimenez ◽

Imène Seninet ◽

Marion Orsucci ◽

Philippe Audiot ◽

Nicolas Nègre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Target Genes ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Transcriptome Profiling ◽

Transplant Experiment ◽

Reciprocal Transplant Experiment ◽

Gene Target ◽

Expression Variation

Abstract Background The degree to which adaptation to same environment is determined by similar molecular mechanisms, is a topic of broad interest in evolutionary biology, as an indicator of evolutionary predictability. We wished to address if adaptation to the same host plant in phytophagous insects involved related gene expression patterns. We compared sRNA-Seq and RNA-Seq data between two pairs of taxa of Ostrinia and Spodoptera frugiperda sharing maize as host-plant. For the latter, we had previously carried out a reciprocal transplant experiment by feeding of the larvae of the Corn strain (Sf-C) and the Rice strain (Sf-R) on corn versus rice and characterized the mRNA and miRNA responses. Results First, we predicted the genes encoding miRNA in Ostrinia nubilalis (On) and O. scapulalis (Os). Respectively 67 and 65 known miRNA genes, as well as 196 and 190 novel ones were predicted with Os genome using sncRNAs extracted from whole larvae feeding on corn or mugwort. In On, a read counts analysis showed that 37 (55.22%) known miRNAs and 19 (9.84%) novel miRNAs were differentially expressed (DE) on mugwort compared to corn (in Os, 25 known miRs (38.46%) and 8 novel ones (4.34%)). Between species on corn, 8 (12.5%) known miRNAs and 8 (6.83%) novel ones were DE while only one novel miRNA showed expression variation between species on mugwort. Gene target prediction led to the identification of 2953 unique target genes in On and 2719 in Os, among which 11.6% (344) were DE when comparing species on corn. 1.8% (54) of On miR targets showed expression variation upon a change of host-plant. We found molecular changes matching convergent phenotype, i.e., a set of nine miRNAs that are regulated either according to the host-plant both in On and Sf-C or between them on the same plant, corn. Among DE miR target genes between taxa, 13.7% shared exactly the same annotation between the two pairs of taxa and had function related to insect host-plant interaction. Conclusion There is some similarity in underlying genetic mechanisms of convergent evolution of two distant Lepidopteran species having adopted corn in their host range, highlighting possible adaptation genes.

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A new module of AFRIMS’ spoon for larval food quantity affects development time, survival and adult body size ofAnopheles dirusunder laboratory conditions

10.1603/ice.2016.109374 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Kanchana Pantuwattana

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Development Time ◽

Larval Food ◽

Adult Body Size ◽

Laboratory Conditions ◽

Food Quantity ◽

Adult Body

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Does Local Adaptation Impact on the Distribution of Competing Aedes Disease Vectors?

Climate ◽

10.3390/cli9020036 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 36

Author(s):

Kelly L. Bennett ◽

William Owen McMillan ◽

Jose R. Loaiza

Keyword(s):

Local Adaptation ◽

Resource Competition ◽

Disease Vectors ◽

Human Populations ◽

Transplant Experiment ◽

Reciprocal Transplant Experiment ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Ecological Resources ◽

The Face ◽

Arboviral Disease

Ae. (Stegomyia) aegypti L. and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus Skuse mosquitoes are major arboviral disease vectors in human populations. Interspecific competition between these species shapes their distribution and hence the incidence of disease. While Ae. albopictus is considered a superior competitor for ecological resources and displaces its contender Ae. aegypti from most environments, the latter is able to persist with Ae. albopictus under particular environmental conditions, suggesting species occurrence cannot be explained by resource competition alone. The environment is an important determinant of species displacement or coexistence, although the factors underpinning its role remain little understood. In addition, it has been found that Ae. aegypti can be adapted to the environment across a local scale. Based on data from the Neotropical country of Panama, we present the hypothesis that local adaptation to the environment is critical in determining the persistence of Ae. aegypti in the face of its direct competitor Ae. albopictus. We show that although Ae. albopictus has displaced Ae. aegypti in some areas of Panama, both species coexist across many areas, including regions where Ae. aegypti appear to be locally adapted to dry climate conditions and less vegetated environments. Based on these findings, we describe a reciprocal transplant experiment to test our hypothesis, with findings expected to provide fundamental insights into the role of environmental variation in shaping the landscape of emerging arboviral disease.

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Variation of xylem vessel diameters across a climate gradient: insight from a reciprocal transplant experiment with a widespread boreal tree

Functional Ecology ◽

10.1111/1365-2435.12455 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 29 (11) ◽

pp. 1392-1401 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Stefan G. Schreiber ◽

Uwe G. Hacke ◽

Andreas Hamann

Keyword(s):

Xylem Vessel ◽

Reciprocal Transplant ◽

Transplant Experiment ◽

Reciprocal Transplant Experiment ◽

Climate Gradient

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Mass extinctions alter extinction and origination dynamics with respect to body size

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2021.1681 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 288 (1960) ◽

Author(s):

Pedro M. Monarrez ◽

Noel A. Heim ◽

Jonathan L. Payne

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Mass Extinction ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Marine Animal ◽

Mass Extinctions ◽

Extinction Selectivity ◽

Extinction Events ◽

Mass Extinction Events ◽

Marine Biosphere

Whether mass extinctions and their associated recoveries represent an intensification of background extinction and origination dynamics versus a separate macroevolutionary regime remains a central debate in evolutionary biology. The previous focus has been on extinction, but origination dynamics may be equally or more important for long-term evolutionary outcomes. The evolution of animal body size is an ideal process to test for differences in macroevolutionary regimes, as body size is easily determined, comparable across distantly related taxa and scales with organismal traits. Here, we test for shifts in selectivity between background intervals and the ‘Big Five’ mass extinction events using capture–mark–recapture models. Our body-size data cover 10 203 fossil marine animal genera spanning 10 Linnaean classes with occurrences ranging from Early Ordovician to Late Pleistocene (485–1 Ma). Most classes exhibit differences in both origination and extinction selectivity between background intervals and mass extinctions, with the direction of selectivity varying among classes and overall exhibiting stronger selectivity during origination after mass extinction than extinction during the mass extinction. Thus, not only do mass extinction events shift the marine biosphere into a new macroevolutionary regime, the dynamics of recovery from mass extinction also appear to play an underappreciated role in shaping the biosphere in their aftermath.

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Quantitative Variation and Heritability of Postdiapause Development Time and Body Size in the Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

Annals of the Entomological Society of America ◽

10.1093/aesa/87.6.922 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 87 (6) ◽

pp. 922-927 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Robin E. Owen ◽

David B. McCorquodale

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Development Time ◽

Quantitative Variation

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Ontogenetic mechanisms underlying sexual size dimorphism in Urodele amphibians: An across-species approach

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/czoolo/59.1.142 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

pp. 142-150 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Lixia Zhang ◽

Xin Lu

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Body Size ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽

Demographic Data ◽

High Growth ◽

Annual Growth Rate ◽

Size Dimorphism ◽

Ontogenetic Trajectory ◽

Delayed Maturation

Abstract Why do two sexes of the same species differ in body size holds a long-standing question of evolutionary biology. While many across-species comparisons have focused on ultimate causes behind sexual size dimorphism (SSD), only have a few been directed toward elucidating its ontogenetic basis. Urodeles are an amphibian group in which the direction and degree of SSD vary greatly among species. Using demographic data yielded by skeletochronology for 33 urodele species, the current study reveals a positive across-species correlation between SSD and the sex difference in mean age of adult animals, and the latter increases with the corresponding difference in age at maturity; annual growth rate does not differ between the sexes. We conclude that extended longevities in one sex, which is mediated by delayed maturation, would allow it to grow for longer and get larger, with growth rate making a weak contribution to body size. The sex-specific divergence in ontogenetic trajectory might be explained by potentially high growth costs of reproduction to females in association with stronger fecundity selection, and to males that are expected to experience stronger sexual selection.

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