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Phenotypic plasticity promotes recombination and gene clustering in periodic environments.

ABSTRACT: While theory offers clear predictions for when recombination will evolve in changing environments, it is unclear what natural scenarios can generate the necessary conditions. The Red Queen hypothesis provides one such scenario, but it requires antagonistic host-parasite interactions. Here we present a novel scenario for the evolution of recombination in finite populations: the genomic storage effect due to phenotypic plasticity. Using analytic approximations and Monte-Carlo simulations, we demonstrate that balanced polymorphism and recombination evolve between a target locus that codes for a seasonally selected trait and a plasticity modifier locus that modulates the effects of target-locus alleles. Furthermore, we show that selection suppresses recombination among multiple co-modulated target loci, in the absence of epistasis among them, which produces a cluster of linked selected loci. These results provide a novel biological scenario for the evolution of recombination and supergenes.

SUBMITTER: Gulisija D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5725583 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Phenotypic plasticity promotes recombination and gene clustering in periodic environments.

Gulisija Davorka D Plotkin Joshua B JB

Nature communications 20171211 1

While theory offers clear predictions for when recombination will evolve in changing environments, it is unclear what natural scenarios can generate the necessary conditions. The Red Queen hypothesis provides one such scenario, but it requires antagonistic host-parasite interactions. Here we present a novel scenario for the evolution of recombination in finite populations: the genomic storage effect due to phenotypic plasticity. Using analytic approximations and Monte-Carlo simulations, we demon ...[more]

PMID: 29229921

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Project description:In fungi, unisexual reproduction, where sexual development is initiated without the presence of two compatible mating type alleles, has been observed in several species that can also undergo traditional bisexual reproduction, including the important human fungal pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans. While unisexual reproduction has been well characterized qualitatively, detailed quantifications are still lacking for aspects of this process, such as the frequency of recombination during unisexual reproduction, and how this compares with bisexual reproduction. Here, we analyzed meiotic recombination during α-α unisexual and a-α bisexual reproduction of C. neoformans. We found that meiotic recombination operates in a similar fashion during both modes of sexual reproduction. Specifically, we observed that in α-α unisexual reproduction, the numbers of crossovers along the chromosomes during meiosis, recombination frequencies at specific chromosomal regions, as well as meiotic recombination hot and cold spots, are all similar to those observed during a-α bisexual reproduction. The similarity in meiosis is also reflected by the fact that phenotypic segregation among progeny collected from the two modes of sexual reproduction is also similar, with transgressive segregation being observed in both. Additionally, we found diploid meiotic progeny were also produced at similar frequencies in the two modes of sexual reproduction, and transient chromosomal loss and duplication likely occurs frequently and results in aneuploidy and loss of heterozygosity that can span entire chromosomes. Furthermore, in both α-α unisexual and a-α bisexual reproduction, we observed biased allele inheritance in regions on chromosome 4, suggesting the presence of fragile chromosomal regions that might be vulnerable to mitotic recombination. Interestingly, we also observed a crossover event that occurred within the MAT locus during α-α unisexual reproduction. Our results provide definitive evidence that α-α unisexual reproduction is a meiotic process similar to a-α bisexual reproduction.

Project description:Background and aimsPhenotypic plasticity can affect the geographical distribution of taxa and greatly impact the productivity of crops across contrasting and variable environments. The main objectives of this study were to identify genotype-phenotype associations in key biomass and phenology traits and the strength of phenotypic plasticity of these traits in a short-rotation coppice willow population across multiple years and contrasting environments to facilitate marker-assisted selection for these traits.MethodsA hybrid Salix viminalis ?×?( S. viminalis × Salix schwerinii ) population with 463 individuals was clonally propagated and planted in three common garden experiments comprising one climatic contrast between Sweden and Italy and one water availability contrast in Italy. Several key phenotypic traits were measured and phenotypic plasticity was estimated as the trait value difference between experiments. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping analyses were conducted using a dense linkage map and phenotypic effects of S. schwerinii haplotypes derived from detected QTL were assessed.Key resultsAcross the climatic contrast, clone predictor correlations for biomass traits were low and few common biomass QTL were detected. This indicates that the genetic regulation of biomass traits was sensitive to environmental variation. Biomass QTL were, however, frequently shared across years and across the water availability contrast. Phenology QTL were generally shared between all experiments. Substantial phenotypic plasticity was found among the hybrid offspring, that to a large extent had a genetic origin. Individuals carrying influential S. schwerinii haplotypes generally performed well in Sweden but less well in Italy in terms of biomass production.ConclusionsThe results indicate that specific genetic elements of S. schwerinii are more suited to Swedish conditions than to those of Italy. Therefore, selection should preferably be conducted separately for such environments in order to maximize biomass production in admixed S. viminalis × S. schwerinii populations.

Project description:Spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, is a major pest of small fruit worldwide in temperate and subtropical growing regions. In Northern climates, D. suzukii likely overwinters locally under leaf litter and snow pack, but our understanding of the factors affecting thermal susceptibility is limited. While previous investigations of thermal susceptibility in this species have employed conventional static acclimation protocols, we aimed to determine whether gradual cooling, or dynamic acclimation, may extend the limits of known thermal tolerance by more closely approximating naturally occurring shifts in temperature. First, we assessed survival among adult and pupal D. suzukii using static acclimation. Then, we re-assessed survival using a novel dynamic acclimation method. We found that while static acclimation was sufficient to induce cold tolerance, dynamic acclimation significantly improved survival at temperatures as low as -7.5 °C. Following static acclimation, the lower lethal limit of adult D. suzukii was -1.1 °C in winter morphotype (WM) adults compared to 1.7 °C in non-acclimated summer morphotype (SM) adults. Dynamic acclimation reduced the lower limit to -5 °C in SM flies. At the end of our study 50% of WM flies survived 72 h at -7.5 °C. Below 0 °C pupal survival declined significantly regardless of acclimation procedure. However, pupal acclimation improved survival outcomes significantly compared to non-acclimated pupae, suggesting that while juvenile diapause is unlikely, cold hardening likely benefits those flies which may develop into the overwintering WM population. These data suggest that the degree of cold hardening is proportional to the thermal environment, a finding previously unrecognized in this species. Given the economic impact of this pest, these data may have important implications for offseason population monitoring and management. We discuss how phenotypic plasticity may drive geographical range expansion, and the impact of climate change on the spread of this species.

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Phenotypic plasticity promotes recombination and gene clustering in periodic environments.

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Phenotypic plasticity promotes recombination and gene clustering in periodic environments.

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