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356 results for “heritability”

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dryad36/100

Reproductive phenology is a repeatable, heritable trait linked to the timing of other life history events in a migratory marine predator

Population-level shifts in reproductive phenology in response to environmental change are common, but whether individual-level responses are modified by demographic and genetic factors remains less well understood. We used mixed models to quantify how reproductive timing varied across 1,755 female southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) breeding at Marion Island in the Southern Ocean (1989–2019) and to identify the factors that correlate with phenological shifts within- and between individuals. We found strong support for covariation in the timing of breeding arrival dates and the timing of the preceding moult. Breeding arrival dates were more repeatable at the individual-level, as compared to the population-level, even after accounting for individual traits (wean date as a pup, age and breeding experience) associated with phenological variability. Mother-daughter similarities in breeding phenology were also evident, indicating that additive genetic effects may contribute to between-individual variation in breeding phenology. Over 30 years, elephant seal phenology did not change towards earlier or later dates, and we found no correlation between annual fluctuations in phenology and indices of environmental variation. Our results show how maternal genetic (or non-genetic) effects, individual traits and linkages between cyclical life-history events can drive within- and between-individual variation in reproductive phenology.

opencc-zeroJul 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Cryptic community structure and metabolic interactions among the heritable facultative symbionts of the pea aphid

Most insects harbor influential, yet non-essential heritable microbes in their hemocoel. Communities of these symbionts exhibit low diversity. But their frequent multi-species nature raises intriguing questions on roles for symbiont-symbiont synergies in host adaptation, and on the stability of the symbiont communities, themselves. In this study, we build on knowledge of species-defined symbiont community structure across United States populations of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Through extensive symbiont genotyping, we show that pea aphids' microbiomes can be more precisely defined at the symbiont strain level, with strain variability shaping ~5 out of 9 previously reported co-infection trends. Field data provide a mixture of evidence for symbiont-symbiont synergies, and symbiont hitchhiking, revealing causes and consequences of these co-infection trends. To test whether within-host metabolic interactions predict common versus rare strain-defined communities, we leveraged the high relatedness of our dominant, community-defined symbiont strains vs. twelve pea aphid-derived Gammaproteobacteria with sequenced genomes. Genomic inference, using metabolic complementarity indices, revealed high potential for cooperation among one pair of symbionts – Serratia symbiotica and Rickettsiella viridis. Applying the expansion network algorithm, through additional use of pea aphid and obligate Buchnera symbiont genomes, Serratia and Rickettsiella emerged as the only symbiont community requiring both parties to expand holobiont metabolism. Through their joint expansion of the biotin biosynthesis pathway, these symbionts may span missing gaps within a multi-party mutualism, within their nutrient-limited phloem-feeding hosts. Recent, complementary gene inactivation, within the biotin pathways of Serratia and Rickettsiella, raise further questions on the origins of mutualisms and host-symbiont interdependencies.

opencc-zeroAug 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Heritable variation in thermal profiles is associated with reproductive success in the world's largest bird

Organisms inhabiting extreme thermal environments, such as desert birds, have evolved spectacular adaptations to thermoregulate during hot and cold conditions. However, our knowledge of selection for thermoregulation and the potential for evolutionary responses is limited, particularly for large organisms experiencing extreme temperature fluctuations. Here we use thermal imaging to quantify selection and genetic variation in thermoregulation in ostriches (Struthio camelus), the world's largest bird species that is experiencing increasingly volatile temperatures. We found that females that are better at regulating their head temperatures ('thermoregulatory capacity') had higher egg-laying rates under hotter conditions. Thermoregulatory capacity was both heritable and showed signatures of local adaptation: females originating from more unpredictable climates were better at regulating their head temperatures in response to temperature fluctuations. Together these results reveal that past and present evolutionary processes have shaped genetic variation in thermoregulatory capacity, which appears to protect critical organs, such as the brain, from extreme temperatures during reproduction.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

dryad36/100