High Temperatures Reveal Cryptic Genetic Variation in a Polymorphic Female Sperm Storage Organ

Berger, David; Bauerfeind, Stephanie S.; Blanckenhorn, Wolf U.; Schäfer, Martin A.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01392.x

Cited by 55 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 94 publications

(145 reference statements)

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“…Whereas the previous examples demonstrate CGV by the transformation of invariant into variant (and often aberrant) phenotypes, estimating V A allows the possibility of phenotypic variation before perturbation as well. Several recent studies have demonstrated that ecologically relevant changes to environment can increase V A in natural populations, including body size in sticklebacks 28 , spermathecae number in dung flies 29 , plasma antioxidant level in gulls 30 , and traits associated with facultative carnivory in spadefoot toad relatives 31 .…”

Section: What Does Cgv Look Like?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Image courtesy of David Pfennig.) b-d | Female yellow dung flies almost always have three sperm storage compartments, or spermathecae; Berger et al 29 perturbed spermathecae development by increasing rearing temperature to reveal cryptic genetic variation for four spermathecae. (Mating pair image courtesy of Peter Jann; spermathecae images courtesy of David Berger and reproduced with permission from John Wiley and Sons.)…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Cryptic genetic variation: evolution's hidden substrate

2014

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Cryptic genetic variation is invisible under normal conditions but fuel for evolution when circumstances change. In theory, CGV can represent a massive cache of adaptive potential or a pool of deleterious alleles in need of constant suppression. CGV emerges from both neutral and selective processes and it may inform how human populations respond to change. In experimental settings, CGV facilitates adaptation, but does it play an important role in the real world? We review the empirical support for widespread CGV in natural populations, including its potential role in emerging human diseases and the growing evidence of its contribution to evolution.

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Section: What Does Cgv Look Like?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Cryptic genetic variation: evolution's hidden substrate

2014

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“…Recent population genetic data documented latitudinal variation for the 4s phenotype and striking phenotypic plasticity in spermatheca number in response to developmental temperature (Berger et al . ). These findings suggest that high metabolism or fast larval growth and development, which all systematically vary with latitude and temperature, might be important in driving these patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The developmental plasticity and functional significance of an additional sperm storage compartment in female yellow dung flies

et al. 2013

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Summary1. The mechanistic basis for and adaptive significance of variation in female sperm storage organs are important for a range of questions concerning sexual selection and speciation, as such variation influences the evolutionary trajectories of male fertilization related traits and may facilitate speciation through its effects on gamete recognition. 2. Female yellow dung flies (Scathophaga stercoraria) usually develop three sperm storage compartments, and this subdivision may be an adaptation for sorting sperm during postcopulatory choice. 3. Using lines artificially selected to express four spermathecae (4s), we explored the fitness consequences of the novel phenotype relative to the naturally prevalent three-spermatheca (3s) phenotype by manipulating the opportunity for postcopulatory sexual selection (females mated either with three or only one male prior to oviposition). In addition, we examined the developmental plasticity of spermathecal number in response to different larval food environments and estimated its genetic correlation with growth rate. 4. Mating treatments with and without the opportunity for postcopulatory sexual selection revealed no significant fitness differences between alternative spermathecal phenotypes within selection lines despite overall benefits associated with multiple mating, and moderate egg-toadult survival costs in response to artificial selection for 4s. Manipulations of the larval food environment revealed that the expression of 4s is highly plastic and tightly linked to environmental conditions promoting fast somatic growth and development. Likewise, siblings with fast intrinsic (genetic) growth were more likely to express 4s within and across food environments. 5. The present results highlight a great potential for rapid evolutionary change in female sperm storage morphology through indirect selection on life-history traits, and further suggest genetic assimilation as a potential mechanism facilitating phylogenetic transitions in spermatheca number as frequently observed within the Dipterans.

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“…Other recent work has expanded the scope of studies of cryptic genetic variation to other model organisms, including the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans [20], [21], the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae [22]–[24] and the bacterium Escherichia coli [25]. Such studies have also expanded to non-model species, including tobacco hornworms [26], dung flies [27] and a beetle-associated nematode [28]. The list of genes in D. melanogaster whose impairment can reveal cryptic variation is poised to expand as well: a genetic screen using deficiency chromosomes recently showed that there are at least 10 regions of the D. melanogaster genome containing a gene that reveals cryptic variation in wing morphology when hemizygous [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Histone Variant HTZ1 Shows Extensive Epistasis with, but Does Not Increase Robustness to, New Mutations

et al. 2013

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Biological systems produce phenotypes that appear to be robust to perturbation by mutations and environmental variation. Prior studies identified genes that, when impaired, reveal previously cryptic genetic variation. This result is typically interpreted as evidence that the disrupted gene normally increases robustness to mutations, as such robustness would allow cryptic variants to accumulate. However, revelation of cryptic genetic variation is not necessarily evidence that a mutationally robust state has been made less robust. Demonstrating a difference in robustness requires comparing the ability of each state (with the gene perturbed or intact) to suppress the effects of new mutations. Previous studies used strains in which the existing genetic variation had been filtered by selection. Here, we use mutation accumulation (MA) lines that have experienced minimal selection, to test the ability of histone H2A.Z (HTZ1) to increase robustness to mutations in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. HTZ1, a regulator of chromatin structure and gene expression, represents a class of genes implicated in mutational robustness. It had previously been shown to increase robustness of yeast cell morphology to fluctuations in the external or internal microenvironment. We measured morphological variation within and among 79 MA lines with and without HTZ1. Analysis of within-line variation confirms that HTZ1 increases microenvironmental robustness. Analysis of between-line variation shows the morphological effects of eliminating HTZ1 to be highly dependent on the line, which implies that HTZ1 interacts with mutations that have accumulated in the lines. However, lines without HTZ1 are, as a group, not more phenotypically diverse than lines with HTZ1 present. The presence of HTZ1, therefore, does not confer greater robustness to mutations than its absence. Our results provide experimental evidence that revelation of cryptic genetic variation cannot be assumed to be caused by loss of robustness, and therefore force reevaluation of prior claims based on that assumption.

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High Temperatures Reveal Cryptic Genetic Variation in a Polymorphic Female Sperm Storage Organ

Cited by 55 publications

References 94 publications

Cryptic genetic variation: evolution's hidden substrate

Cryptic genetic variation: evolution's hidden substrate

The developmental plasticity and functional significance of an additional sperm storage compartment in female yellow dung flies

Histone Variant HTZ1 Shows Extensive Epistasis with, but Does Not Increase Robustness to, New Mutations

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