Transgenerational plasticity of inducible defences: Combined effects of grand-parental, parental and current environments.

ABSTRACT: Phenotypic plasticity can occur across generations (transgenerational plasticity) when environments experienced by the previous generations influenced offspring phenotype. The evolutionary importance of transgenerational plasticity, especially regarding within-generational plasticity, is a currently hot topic in the plasticity framework. How long an environmental effect can persist across generations and whether multigenerational effects are cumulative are primordial-for the evolutionary significance of transgenerational plasticity-but still unresolved questions. In this study, we investigated how the grand-parental, parental and offspring exposures to predation cues shape the predator-induced defences of offspring in the Physa acuta snail. We expected that the offspring phenotypes

SUBMITTER: Tariel J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7069331 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature