REPLICATED EVOLUTION OF INTEGRATED PLASTIC RESPONSES DURING EARLY ADAPTIVE DIVERGENCE

Evolution ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Parsons ◽  
Beren W. Robinson
Evolution ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Parsons ◽  
Beren W. Robinson

Author(s):  
Greg M. Walter ◽  
James Clark ◽  
Antonia Cristaudo ◽  
Bruno Nevado ◽  
Stefania Catara ◽  
...  

AbstractOrganisms rely on plasticity to track environmental variation within their native range. However, it remains unclear how adaptation and plasticity interact, and how adaptive divergence affects the evolution of plasticity. To test for variation in plastic responses among two closely related but ecologically divergent ragwort species (Senecio, Asteraceae), we sampled c.40 genotypes of each species from natural populations. We then transplanted multiple clones of each genotype into four field sites along an elevational gradient representing each species’ native range, the edge of their range, and conditions outside their native range. At each transplant site, we quantified survival, growth, leaf investment, leaf morphology, chlorophyll fluorescence and gene expression. Both species performed better at their home sites, but the high elevation species showed lower tolerance to conditions outside its range than the low elevation species, suggesting stronger specialisation to the high elevation habitat. The two species also differed substantially in the direction of phenotypic and gene expression change across elevation, suggesting that distinct plastic responses have rapidly evolved in these two species. Adaptive divergence has led to the evolution of distinct plastic responses to environmental variation with distinct genomic architectures, despite these two species having shared a recent common ancestry.


2005 ◽  
Vol 166 (3) ◽  
pp. 339
Author(s):  
Gabriel ◽  
Luttbeg ◽  
Sih ◽  
Tollrian

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse R. Conklin ◽  
Simeon Lisovski ◽  
Phil F. Battley

AbstractGlobally, bird migration is occurring earlier in the year, consistent with climate-related changes in breeding resources. Although often attributed to phenotypic plasticity, there is no clear demonstration of long-term population advancement in avian migration through individual plasticity. Using direct observations of bar-tailed godwits (Limosa lapponica) departing New Zealand on a 16,000-km journey to Alaska, we show that migration advanced by six days during 2008–2020, and that within-individual advancement was sufficient to explain this population-level change. However, in individuals tracked for the entire migration (50 total tracks of 36 individuals), earlier departure did not lead to earlier arrival or breeding in Alaska, due to prolonged stopovers in Asia. Moreover, changes in breeding-site phenology varied across Alaska, but were not reflected in within-population differences in advancement of migratory departure. We demonstrate that plastic responses can drive population-level changes in timing of long-distance migration, but also that behavioral and environmental constraints en route may yet limit adaptive responses to global change.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 435
Author(s):  
Thijs M. P. Bal ◽  
Alejandro Llanos-Garrido ◽  
Anurag Chaturvedi ◽  
Io Verdonck ◽  
Bart Hellemans ◽  
...  

There is a general and solid theoretical framework to explain how the interplay between natural selection and gene flow affects local adaptation. Yet, to what extent coexisting closely related species evolve collectively or show distinctive evolutionary responses remains a fundamental question. To address this, we studied the population genetic structure and morphological differentiation of sympatric three-spined and nine-spined stickleback. We conducted genotyping-by-sequencing and morphological trait characterisation using 24 individuals of each species from four lowland brackish water (LBW), four lowland freshwater (LFW) and three upland freshwater (UFW) sites in Belgium and the Netherlands. This combination of sites allowed us to contrast populations from isolated but environmentally similar locations (LFW vs. UFW), isolated but environmentally heterogeneous locations (LBW vs. UFW), and well-connected but environmentally heterogenous locations (LBW vs. LFW). Overall, both species showed comparable levels of genetic diversity and neutral genetic differentiation. However, for all three spatial scales, signatures of morphological and genomic adaptive divergence were substantially stronger among populations of the three-spined stickleback than among populations of the nine-spined stickleback. Furthermore, most outlier SNPs in the two species were associated with local freshwater sites. The few outlier SNPs that were associated with the split between brackish water and freshwater populations were located on one linkage group in three-spined stickleback and two linkage groups in nine-spined stickleback. We conclude that while both species show congruent evolutionary and genomic patterns of divergent selection, both species differ in the magnitude of their response to selection regardless of the geographical and environmental context.


Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 163 (2) ◽  
pp. 723-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Barrier ◽  
Carlos D Bustamante ◽  
Jiaye Yu ◽  
Michael D Purugganan

Abstract Genes that have undergone positive or diversifying selection are likely to be associated with adaptive divergence between species. One indicator of adaptive selection at the molecular level is an excess of amino acid replacement fixed differences per replacement site relative to the number of synonymous fixed differences per synonymous site (ω = Ka/Ks). We used an evolutionary expressed sequence tag (EST) approach to estimate the distribution of ω among 304 orthologous loci between Arabidopsis thaliana and A. lyrata to identify genes potentially involved in the adaptive divergence between these two Brassicaceae species. We find that 14 of 304 genes (∼5%) have an estimated ω > 1 and are candidates for genes with increased selection intensities. Molecular population genetic analyses of 6 of these rapidly evolving protein loci indicate that, despite their high levels of between-species nonsynonymous divergence, these genes do not have elevated levels of intraspecific replacement polymorphisms compared to previously studied genes. A hierarchical Bayesian analysis of protein-coding region evolution within and between species also indicates that the selection intensities of these genes are elevated compared to previously studied A. thaliana nuclear loci.


Genome ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Bahar Patlar ◽  
Alberto Civetta

It has long been acknowledged that changes in the regulation of gene expression may account for major organismal differences. However, we still do not fully understand how changes in gene expression evolve and how do such changes influence organisms’ differences. We are even less aware of the impact such changes might have in restricting gene flow between species. Here, we focus on studies of gene expression and speciation in the Drosophila model. We review studies that have identified gene interactions in post-mating reproductive isolation and speciation, particularly those that modulate male gene expression. We also address studies that have experimentally manipulated changes in gene expression to test their effect in post-mating reproductive isolation. We highlight the need for a more in-depth analysis of the role of selection causing disrupted gene expression of such candidate genes in sterile/inviable hybrids. Moreover, we discuss the relevance to incorporate more routinely assays that simultaneously evaluate the potential effects of environmental factors and genetic background in modulating plastic responses in male genes and their potential role in speciation.


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