Parallel molecular routes to cold adaptation in eight genera of New Zealand stick insects.

ABSTRACT: The acquisition of physiological strategies to tolerate novel thermal conditions allows organisms to exploit new environments. As a result, thermal tolerance is a key determinant of the global distribution of biodiversity, yet the constraints on its evolution are not well understood. Here we investigate parallel evolution of cold tolerance in New Zealand stick insects, an endemic radiation containing three montane-occurring species. Using a phylogeny constructed from 274 orthologous genes, we show that stick insects have independently colonized montane environments at least twice. We compare supercooling point and survival of internal ice formation among ten species from eight genera, and identify both freeze tolerance and freeze avoidance in separate montane lineages. Freeze tolerance is

SUBMITTER: Dennis AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4564816 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature