Natural selection on plasticity of thermal traits in a highly seasonal environment

Bacigalupe, Leonardo D.; Gaitán‐Espitía, Juan Diego; Barria, Aura M.; González, Avia; Ruiz‐Aravena, Manuel; Trinder, Mark; Sinervo, Barry

doi:10.1101/191825

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Empirical studies have shown that physiological adaptation during acclimation usually leads to environmental specialists (Bacigalupe et al, ; Levins, ). Species perform better in the specific environmental niche to which they were acclimated as compared to their ancestors, but their fitness is not changed or even reduced in other environmental niches to which they were not acclimated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The two adaptation processes are interconnected to provide an opportunity for the organism in question to survive, reproduce, and compete in new environments (Willmott et al, ). Many empirical studies of thermal adaptation have focused on the scales and patterns of physiological adaptation, that is, phenotypic plasticity (Bacigalupe et al, ; Chown, Addo‐Bediako, & Gaston, ; Garrett et al, ; Willmott et al, ). In contrast, evolutionary inferences on how fast genetic adaptation can occur and how such adaptations may affect biological interactions among traits are relatively limited, particularly in plant pathogens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid adaptation of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans to changing temperature

Wang

Lurwanu

et al. 2019

Evolutionary Applications

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Temperature plays a multidimensional role in host–pathogen interactions. As an important element of climate change, elevated world temperature resulting from global warming presents new challenges to sustainable disease management. Knowledge of pathogen adaptation to global warming is needed to predict future disease epidemiology and formulate mitigating strategies. In this study, 21 Phytophthora infestans isolates originating from seven thermal environments were acclimated for 200 days under stepwise increase or decrease of experimental temperatures and evolutionary responses of the isolates to the thermal changes were evaluated. We found temperature acclimation significantly increased the fitness and genetic adaptation of P. infestans isolates at both low and high temperatures. Low‐temperature acclimation enforced the countergradient adaptation of the pathogen to its past selection and enhanced the positive association between the pathogen's intrinsic growth rate and aggressiveness. At high temperatures, we found that pathogen growth collapsed near the maximum temperature for growth, suggesting a thermal niche boundary may exist in the evolutionary adaptation of P. infestans. These results indicate that pathogens can quickly adapt to temperature shifts in global warming. If this is associated with environmental conditions favoring pathogen spread, it will threaten future food security and human health and require the establishment of mitigating actions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid adaptation of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans to changing temperature

Wang

Lurwanu

et al. 2019

Evolutionary Applications

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“…There is less consensus on the adaptive direction of clinal genetic variation in body size-and to some extent growth rate-with temperature or seasonality (see "Discussion"; Abrams et al 1996;Hodkinson 2005;Dmitriew 2011;Keller et al 2013). Furthermore, we did not expect phenotypic plasticity in development or growth to vary adaptively along climate gradients because, apart from acclimation (Bacigalupe et al 2018), there is little evidence that temperature-induced plasticity in development or growth of ectotherms is adaptive (van der Have and de Jong 1996; Angilletta and Dunham 2003;Overgaard et al 2011). In summary, the pattern illustrated in figure 1 is expected for development rate, but for other traits and plasticities there is no clear prediction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Gene Flow Limits Adaptation along Steep Environmental Gradients

Bachmann

Rensburg

Cortázar-Chinarro

et al. 2020

The American Naturalist

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When environmental variation is spatially continuous, dispersing individuals move among nearby sites with similar habitat conditions. But as an environmental gradient becomes steeper, gene flow may connect more divergent habitats, and this is predicted to reduce the slope of the adaptive cline that evolves. We compared quantitative genetic divergence of Rana temporaria frog populations along a 2,000-m elevational gradient in eastern Switzerland (new experimental results) with divergence along a 1,550-km latitudinal gradient in Fennoscandia (previously published results). Both studies found significant countergradient variation in larval development rate (i.e., animals from cold climates developed more rapidly). The cline was weaker with elevation than with latitude. Animals collected on both gradients were genotyped at 2,000 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers, revealing that dispersal distance was 30% farther on the latitudinal gradient but 3.9 times greater with respect to environmental conditions on the elevational gradient. A meta-analysis of 19 experimental studies of anuran populations spanning temperature gradients revealed that countergradient variation in larval development, while significant overall, was weaker when measured on steeper gradients. These findings support the prediction that adaptive population divergence is less pronounced, and maladaptation more pervasive, on steep environmental gradients. abstract: When environmental variation is spatially continuous, dispersing individuals move among nearby sites with similar habitat conditions. But as an environmental gradient becomes steeper, gene flow may connect more divergent habitats, and this is predicted to reduce the slope of the adaptive cline that evolves. We compared quantitative genetic divergence of Rana temporaria frog populations along a 2,000-m elevational gradient in eastern Switzerland (new experimental results) with divergence along a 1,550-km latitudinal gradient in Fennoscandia (previously published results). Both studies found significant countergradient variation in larval development rate (i.e., animals from cold climates developed more rapidly). The cline was weaker with elevation than with latitude. Animals collected on both gradients were genotyped at ∼2,000 singlenucleotide polymorphism markers, revealing that dispersal distance was 30% farther on the latitudinal gradient but 3.9 times greater with respect to environmental conditions on the elevational gradient. A meta-analysis of 19 experimental studies of anuran populations spanning temperature gradients revealed that countergradient variation in larval development, while significant overall, was weaker when measured on steeper gradients. These findings support the prediction that adaptive population divergence is less pronounced, and maladaptation more pervasive, on steep environmental gradients.

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“…As both the strength and shape of selection are key elements that impact the speed at which populations can evolve, determining whether selection in nature targets plasticity itself is of paramount importance. This is particularly relevant if we want to understand how organisms respond to fluctuating environments and whether they will be able to adapt in the face of climate change [71].…”

Section: Plasticity As a 'Matthew Effect'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond buying time: the role of plasticity in phenotypic adaptation to rapid environmental change

Fox

Donelson

Schunter

et al. 2019

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

439

380

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How populations and species respond to modified environmental conditions is critical to their persistence both now and into the future, particularly given the increasing pace of environmental change. The process of adaptation to novel environmental conditions can occur via two mechanisms: (1) the expression of phenotypic plasticity (the ability of one genotype to express varying phenotypes when exposed to different environmental conditions), and (2) evolution via selection for particular phenotypes, resulting in the modification of genetic variation in the population. Plasticity, because it acts at the level of the individual, is often hailed as a rapid-response mechanism that will enable organisms to adapt and survive in our rapidly changing world. But plasticity can also retard adaptation by shifting the distribution of phenotypes in the population, shielding it from natural selection. In addition to which, not all plastic responses are adaptive—now well-documented in cases of ecological traps. In this theme issue, we aim to present a considered view of plasticity and the role it could play in facilitating or hindering adaption to environmental change. This introduction provides a re-examination of our current understanding of the role of phenotypic plasticity in adaptation and sets the theme issue's contributions in their broader context. Four key themes emerge: the need to measure plasticity across both space and time; the importance of the past in predicting the future; the importance of the link between plasticity and sexual selection; and the need to understand more about the nature of selection on plasticity itself. We conclude by advocating the need for cross-disciplinary collaborations to settle the question of whether plasticity will promote or retard species' rates of adaptation to ever-more stressful environmental conditions. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of plasticity in phenotypic adaptation to rapid environmental change’.

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Natural selection on plasticity of thermal traits in a highly seasonal environment

Cited by 6 publications

References 45 publications

Rapid adaptation of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans to changing temperature

Rapid adaptation of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans to changing temperature

Gene Flow Limits Adaptation along Steep Environmental Gradients

Beyond buying time: the role of plasticity in phenotypic adaptation to rapid environmental change

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