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The genomic footprint of coastal earthquake uplift.

ABSTRACT: Theory suggests that catastrophic earth-history events can drive rapid biological evolution, but empirical evidence for such processes is scarce. Destructive geological events such as earthquakes can represent large-scale natural experiments for inferring such evolutionary processes. We capitalized on a major prehistoric (800 yr BP) geological uplift event affecting a southern New Zealand coastline to test for the lasting genomic impacts of disturbance. Genome-wide analyses of three co-distributed keystone kelp taxa revealed that post-earthquake recolonization drove the evolution of novel, large-scale intertidal spatial genetic 'sectors' which are tightly linked to geological fault boundaries. Demographic simulations confirmed that, following widespread extirpation, parallel expansions into newly vacant habitats rapidly restructured genome-wide diversity. Interspecific differences in recolonization mode and tempo reflect differing ecological constraints relating to habitat choice and dispersal capacity among taxa. This study highlights the rapid and enduring evolutionary effects of catastrophic ecosystem disturbance and reveals the key role of range expansion in reshaping spatial genetic patterns.

SUBMITTER: Parvizi E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7423469 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Efforts to unravel the genomic basis of incipient speciation are hampered by a mismatch between our toolkit and our understanding of the ecology and genetics of adaptation. While the former is focused on detecting selective sweeps involving few independently acting or linked speciation genes, the latter states that divergence typically occurs in polygenic traits under stabilizing selection. Here, we ask whether a role of stabilizing selection on polygenic traits in population divergence may be unveiled by using a phenotypically informed integrative approach, based on genome-wide variation segregating in divergent populations. We compare three divergent populations of seed beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus) where previous work has demonstrated a prominent role for stabilizing selection on, and population divergence in, key life history traits that reflect rate-dependent metabolic processes. We derive and assess predictions regarding the expected pattern of covariation between genetic variation segregating within populations and genetic differentiation between populations. Population differentiation was considerable (mean F ST = 0.23-0.26) and was primarily built by genes showing high selective constraints and an imbalance in inferred selection in different populations (positive Tajima's D NS in one and negative in one), and this set of genes was enriched with genes with a metabolic function. Repeatability of relative population differentiation was low at the level of individual genes but higher at the level of broad functional classes, again spotlighting metabolic genes. Absolute differentiation (d XY) showed a very different general pattern at this scale of divergence, more consistent with an important role for genetic drift. Although our exploration is consistent with stabilizing selection on polygenic metabolic phenotypes as an important engine of genome-wide relative population divergence and incipient speciation in our study system, we note that it is exceedingly difficult to firmly exclude other scenarios.

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The genomic footprint of coastal earthquake uplift.

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