Project description:We have measured flight effect in gene expression using individual-based RNA-seq data from two regional populations of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia). Largest number of differentially expressed genes were between populations (3840 genes) and between males and females (1622 genes). 801 genes had significant flight effect. Enriched GO and KEGG categories among these genes included hypoxia, glycolysis, and TCA cycle.
Project description:We have compared allelic and gene expression variation using individual-based RNA-seq data from four regional populations of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) in northern Europe. Two of the populations represent fragmented habitat and two continuous habitat. Based on sequence information, we constructed genealogy for four populations. Based on gene expression, we found 1841 genes to be differentially expressed between two different landscape types. Our results demonstrate genomic adaptations to living in fragmented landscapes, which are likely to be related to phenotypic life-history adaptations that have been documented for many species. RNA-seq from thorax, 174 individuals from four populations.
Project description:We have compared allelic and gene expression variation using individual-based RNA-seq data from four regional populations of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) in northern Europe. Two of the populations represent fragmented habitat and two continuous habitat. Based on sequence information, we constructed genealogy for four populations. Based on gene expression, we found 1841 genes to be differentially expressed between two different landscape types. Our results demonstrate genomic adaptations to living in fragmented landscapes, which are likely to be related to phenotypic life-history adaptations that have been documented for many species.
Project description:Predicting how climate change affects biotic interactions and their evolution poses a challenge. Plant-insect herbivore interactions are particularly sensitive to climate change, as climate-induced changes in plant quality cascade into the performance of insect herbivores. Whereas the immediate survival of herbivore individuals depends on plastic responses to climate change induced nutritional stress, long-term population persistence via evolutionary adaptation requires genetic variation for these responses. In order to assess the prospects for population persistence under climate change, it is therefore crucial to characterise response mechanisms to climate change induced stressors, and quantify their variability in natural populations. Here, we test developmental and transcriptomic responses to water limitation induced host plant quality change in a Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) metapopulation. We combine nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on the plant metabolome, larval developmental assays and an RNA seq analysis of the larval transcriptome. We observed that responses to feeding on water limited plants, in which amino acids and aromatic compounds are enriched, showed marked intrapopulation variation, with individuals of some families performing better on control and others on water limited plants. The transcriptomic responses were concordant with the developmental responses: Families exhibiting opposite developmental responses also produced opposite transcriptomic responses, e.g. in growth associated intracellular signalling. The opposite developmental and transcriptomic responses are associated with between families differences in organic compound catabolism and storage protein production. The results reveal heritable intrapopulation variability in plasticity, suggesting potential for evolutionary responses to drought-induced changes in host plant quality in the Finnish M. cinxia metapopulation.