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309 results for “phenotypic variation”

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dryad36/100

Ecological determinants of variation in phenotypic selection on quantitative immune defence traits

Immune defence is an important determinant of organismal fitness. While theoretical models based on trade-offs in resource allocation predict quantitative immune traits to be subject to stabilizing selection due to associated energetic costs and self-harm, empirical studies report mainly positive directional selection. This discrepancy may arise from multiple ecological factors that vary in nature and could influence selection. We examined if selection on immune activity varies depending on immune challenge/infection risk, between immune traits, and among populations in the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. We assessed selection on the phenoloxidase-like and antibacterial activity of snail haemolymph while manipulating the level of immune challenge imposed by environmental microbes. We did this using snails from multiple populations and also quantified within-population family-level variation (i.e., evolutionary potential) in the snails' immune activity. We found that the strength of immune challenge and the examined immune trait determined selection on the snails' immune function. Thus, variation in infection risk can be an important factor in maintaining genetic variation in defence traits. Additionally, immune traits showed low among-population differentiation but high within-population genetic variation. This pattern could arise if natural snail populations are exposed to higher temporal than spatial variation in infection risk.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

dryad36/100

EST-SSR genotyping data from: Ecotype variation in the endemic tree Callicarpa subpubescens on small oceanic islands: Genetic, phenotypic, and environmental insights

Callicarpa subpubescens, endemic to the Ogasawara Islands, is suggested to have multiple ecotypes in the Hahajima Islands, specifically in the central part of the Ogasawara Islands. In this study, associations between genetic groups and spatial distribution, habitat, leaf morphology, size structure, and flowering time of each genetic group were investigated on Hahajima and the satellite Imoutojima Islands. Genetic groups were identified using EST-SSR markers, revealing four ecotypes named based on morphological features: Dwarf (D), Glabrescent (G), Tall (T), and Middle (M), with M being a result of the hybridization of G and T. Ecotype D, adapted to dry environments, is characterized by small tree size, dense thick leaves with abundant hairs, and is distributed in dry scrub. Ecotype G, adapted to understory of mesic forests, lacks leaf hairs. Ecotype T, adapted to the canopy of mesic forests, has hairy leaves and is tall in tree height. Ecotype M, adapted to the canopy of mesic scrub or edges of mesic forests, has hairy leaves but with a shorter tree height than ecotype T. Flowering peaks differed among all ecotype pairs except G and M, but the flowering times more or less overlapped among all ecotypes, suggesting that pre-mating isolation among ecotypes is not perfect. Post-mating isolation is considered absent, as there were no differences in the results, germination, and survival rates of one-year seedlings among inter- and intra-ecotype crossings. The existence of such ecotypes provides valuable insights into the ongoing speciation processes adapting to the oceanic island environments.

opencc-zeroApr 2024View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Phenotypically plastic responses to environmental variation are more complex than life history theory predicts

For insects that exhibit wing polyphenic development, abiotic and biotic signals dictate the adult wing morphology of the insect in an adaptive manner such that in stressful environments the formation of a flight-capable morph is favored and in low stress environments a flightless morph is favored. While there is a relatively large amount known about the environmental cues that dictate morph formation in wing polyphenic hemipterans like planthoppers and aphids, whether those cues dictate the same morphs in non-hemipteran (i.e. cricket) wing polyphenic species has not been explicitly investigated. To experimentally test the generality of environmental cue determination of wing polyphenism across taxa with diverse life histories, in this study we tested the importance of food quantity, parasitic infection, and tactile cues on wing morph determination in the wing polyphenic sand field cricket, Gryllus firmus. Our results also show that certain stress cues, such as severe diet quantity limitation and parasitic infection, actually led to an increase in the production of flightless morph. Based on these findings, our results suggest that physiological and genetic constraints are important to an organism's ability to respond to environmental variation in an adaptive manner beyond simple life history trade-offs.

opencc-zeroJun 2024View details →

dryad36/100

Functional consequences of phenotypic variation between locally adapted populations: swimming performance and ventilation in extremophile fish

Natural selection drives the evolution of traits to optimize organismal performance, but optimization of one aspect of performance can often influence other aspects of performance. Here, we asked how phenotypic variation between locally adapted fish populations affects locomotion and ventilation, testing for functional trade-offs and trait-performance correlations. Specifically, we investigated two populations of livebearing fish (Poecilia mexicana) that inhabit distinct habitat types (hydrogen-sulfide-rich springs and adjacent nonsulfidic streams). For each individual, we quantified different metrics of burst swimming during simulated predator attacks, steady swimming, as well as gill ventilation. Coinciding with predictions, we documented significant population differences in all aspects of performance, with fish from sulfidic habitats exhibiting higher steady swimming performance and higher ventilation capacity, but slower burst swimming. There was a significant functional trade-off between steady and burst swimming, but not between different aspects of locomotion and ventilation. While our findings about population differences in locomotion performance largely parallel the results from previous studies, we provide novel insights about how morphological variation might impact ventilation and ultimately oxygen acquisition. Overall, our analyses provided insights into the functional consequences of previously documented phenotypic variation, which will help to disentangle the effects of different sources of selection that may coincide along complex environmental gradients.

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

dryad36/100

Spatial and temporal variation in phenotypes and fitness in response to developmental thermal environments

1) Phenotypic variation within populations is influenced by the environment via plasticity and natural selection. How phenotypes respond to the environment can vary among traits, populations, and life stages in ways that can influence fitness. 2) Plastic responses during early development are particularly important because they can affect components of fitness throughout an individual's life. Consequently, how natural selection shapes developmental plasticity could be influenced by fitness consequences across different life stages. Moreover, spatial variation in selection pressures could generate differences in plastic responses among populations. 3) To gain insight into sources of variation in phenotypes and survival, we used a laboratory egg incubation experiment using brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) from mainland (ancestral) and island (descendent) populations, combined with a mark-release-recapture experiment in the field. Our study was designed to (i) quantify the effects developmental temperature on embryo development and offspring morphology, (ii) assess how developmental temperature influences offspring survival across different life stages, and (iii) quantify how thermal reaction norms vary among ancestral and descendant populations. 4) Developmental temperature influenced offspring morphology, but thermal reaction norms of embryos showed little variation among populations. Developmental temperature influenced offspring survival, but the patterns differed between embryo and hatchling stages; the optimal temperature for embryos was about 5ºC lower than that for hatchlings. High temperatures were thermally stressful to embryos, but they reduced incubation duration and led to early hatching. In turn, earlier hatching increased the probability of survival to adulthood. Moreover, the effect of temperature on hatchling survival was most pronounced for offspring that hatched late in the season. 5) The difference in optimal developmental temperatures between life stages may be driven by physiological tolerance for embryos and by ecological factors for hatchlings. Moreover, the fitness consequences of the developmental environment depend upon the phenology of hatching. Overall, these results highlight how the developmental environment can differentially effect fitness across life stages and show that temporal thermal heterogeneity can influence survival of embryos, but the consequences on post-hatching stages may vary at different times of the season.

opencc-zeroSep 2021View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: The phenotypic determinants of diet variation between divergent lineages of threespine stickleback

Lineages with independent evolutionary histories often differ in both their morphology and diet. Experimental work has improved our understanding of the links between the biomechanics of morphological traits and foraging performance (trait-utility). However, because the expression of foraging-relevant traits and their utility can be highly context-specific, it is often unclear how dietary divergence arises from evolved phenotypic differences. Here, we explore the phenotypic causes of dietary divergence between two genetically and phenotypically divergent lineages of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) with independent evolutionary histories of freshwater colonization and adaptation. First, using individuals from a line-cross breeding design, we conducted 150 common-garden foraging trials with a community of multiple prey species and performed morphological and behavioural analyses to test for prey-specific trait-utility. Second, we tested if the traits that explain variation in foraging performance among all individuals could also explain the dietary divergence between the lineages. Overall, we found evidence for the utility of several foraging traits, but these traits did not explain the observed dietary divergence between the lineages in common garden. This work suggests that evolved dietary divergence results not only from differences in morphology but also from divergence in behaviours that underlie prey capture success in species-rich prey communities.

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Consilience across multiple, independent genomic data sets reveals species in a complex with limited phenotypic variation

Species delimitation in the genomic era has focused predominantly on the application of multiple analytical methodologies to a single massive parallel sequencing (MPS) data set, rather than leveraging the unique but complementary insights provided by different classes of MPS data. In this study we demonstrate how the use of two independent MPS data sets, a sequence capture data set and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data set generated via genotyping-by-sequencing, enables the resolution of species in three complexes belonging to the grass genus Ehrharta, whose strong population structure and subtle morphological variation limit the effectiveness of traditional species delimitation approaches. Sequence capture data are used to construct a comprehensive phylogenetic tree of Ehrharta and to resolve population relationships within the focal clades, while SNP data are used to detect patterns of gene pool sharing across populations, using a novel approach that visualises multiple values of K. Given that the two genomic data sets are fully independent, the strong congruence in the clusters they resolve provides powerful ratification of species boundaries in all three complexes studied. Our approach is also able to resolve a number of single-population species and a probable hybrid species, both which would be difficult to detect and characterize using a single MPS data set. Overall, the data reveal the existence of 11 and five species in the E. setacea and E. rehmannii complexes, with the E. ramosa complex requiring further sampling before species limits are finalized. Despite phenotypic differentiation being generally subtle, true crypsis is limited to just a few species pairs and triplets. We conclude that, in the absence of strong morphological differentiation, the use of multiple, independent genomic data sets is necessary in order to provide the cross-data set corroboration that is foundational to an integrative taxonomic approach.

opencc-zeroFeb 2023View details →

zenodo36/100

Phenotypic variations of primary metabolites yield during alcoholic fermentation in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae species

Supplementary data including the data set used for the" Phenotypic variations of primary metabolites yield during alcoholic fermentation in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae species" publication.   Abstract: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as the workhorse of alcoholic fermentation, is a major actor of winemaking. In this context, this yeast species performs alcoholic fermentation to convert sugars from the grape must into ethanol and CO2 with an outstanding efficiency: it reaches on average 92% of the maximum theoretical yield of conversion. Primary metabolites produced during fermentation stand for a great importance in wine where they significantly impact wine characteristics. Ethanol indeed does, but others too, which are found in lower concentrations: glycerol, succinate, acetate, ⍺-ketoglutarate… Their production, which can be characterised by a yield according to the amount of sugars consumed, is known to differ from one strain to another. S. cerevisiae is known for its great genetic diversity and plasticity that is directly related to its living environment, natural or technological and therefore to domestication. This leads to a great phenotypic diversity of metabolites production. However, the range of metabolic diversity is variable and depends on the pathway considered. In the aim to improve wine quality, the selection, development and use of strains with dedicated metabolites production without genetic modifications can rely on the natural diversity that already exists. Here we detail a screening that aims to assess this diversity of primary metabolites production in a set of 51 S. cerevisiae strains from various genetic backgrounds (wine, flor, rum, West African, sake…). To approach winemaking conditions, we used a synthetic grape must as fermentation medium and measured by HPLC five main metabolites. Results obtained pointed out great yield differences between strains and that variability is dependent on the metabolite considered. Ethanol appears as the one with the smallest variation among our set of strains, despite it’s by far the most produced. A clear negative correlation between ethanol and glycerol yields has been observed, confirming glycerol synthesis as a good lever to impact ethanol yield. Genetic groups have been identified as linked to high production of specific metabolites, like succinate for rum strains or alpha-ketoglutarate for wine strains. This study thus helps to define the phenotypic diversity of S. cerevisiae in a wine-like context and supports the use of ways of development of new strains exploiting natural diversity. Finally, it provides a detailed data set usable to study diversity of primary metabolites production, including common commercial wine strains.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data for Geographic variation in phenotypic divergence between two hybridizing field cricket species

Patterns of morphological divergence across species' ranges can provide insight into local adaptation and speciation. In this study, we compare phenotypic divergence among 4,221 crickets from 337 populations of two closely related species of field cricket, Gryllus firmus and G. pennsylvanicus and their hybrids. We find that these species differ across their geographic range in key morphological traits, such as body size and ovipositor length, and we directly compare phenotype with genotype for a subset of crickets to demonstrate nuclear genetic introgression, phenotypic intermediacy of hybrids, and essentially unidirectional mitochondrial introgression. We discuss how these morphological traits relate to life history differences between these two species. Our comparisons across geographic areas support prior research that suggested that cryptic variation within G. firmus may represent different species. Overall, our study highlights how variable morphology can be across wide ranging species, and the importance of studying reproductive barriers in more than one or two transects of a hybrid zone.

opencc-zeroAug 2023View details →

dryad36/100