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opencc-zeroMar 2022View details →

Data accompanying Polyphenisms and polymorphisms: genetic variation in plasticity and color variation within and among bluefin killifish populations

The presence of stable color polymorphisms within populations begs the question of how genetic variation is maintained. Consistent variation among populations in coloration, especially when correlated with environmental variation, raises questions about whether environmental conditions affect either the fulcrum of those balanced polymorphisms, the plastic expression of coloration, or both. Color patterns in male bluefin killifish provoke both types of questions. Red and yellow morphs are common in all populations. Blue males are more common in tannin-stained swamps relative to clear springs. Here we combined crosses with a manipulation of light to explore how genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity shape these patterns. We found that the variation in coloration is attributable mainly to two axes of variation: (1) a red-yellow axis with yellow being dominant to red, and (2) a blue axis that can override red-yellow and is controlled by genetics, phenotypic plasticity, and genetic variation for phenotypic plasticity. The variation among populations in plasticity suggests it is adaptive in some populations but not others. The variation among sires in plasticity within the swamp population suggests balancing selection may be acting not only on the red-yellow polymorphism but also on plasticity for blue coloration.

opencc-zeroApr 2022View details →

Photoperiod controls wing polyphenism in a water strider independently of insulin receptor signaling

Insect wing polyphenism has evolved as an adaptation to changing environments and a growing body of research suggests that the nutrient sensing insulin receptor signaling pathway is a hot spot for the evolution of polyphenisms, as it provides a direct link between increased growth and the available nutrients in the environment. However, little is known about the role of insulin receptor signaling in polyphenisms which are controlled by seasonal variation in photoperiod. Here, we demonstrate that wing length polyphenism in the water strider Gerris buenoi is determined by photoperiod and nymphal density, but not by nutrient availability. Exposure to a long-day photoperiod is highly inducive of the short-winged morph whereas high nymphal densities moderately promote development of long wings. Using RNA interference we demonstrate that, unlike in several other species where wing polyphenism is controlled by nutrition, there is no detectable role of insulin receptor signaling in wing morph induction. Our results indicate that the multitude of possible cues that trigger wing polyphenism can be mediated through multiple genetic pathways in insects.

Fig. 7 in Life history variations and seasonal polyphenism in Eumaeus atala (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Fig. 7. Seasonal polyphenism in the dorsal wing color of male Atala, Eumaeus atala. Green (lef photo) is predominantly found in cooler winter and spring southeast Florida temperatures.

Fig. 5 in Life history variations and seasonal polyphenism in Eumaeus atala (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Fig. 5. Eumaeus atala pupal development time (d) for different seasons is indicated by the different line styles. Two distinct groups of development are present, the warm season (summer to fall) and cool season (winter to spring).

Fig. 6 in Life history variations and seasonal polyphenism in Eumaeus atala (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Fig. 6. Polyphenism in Atala, Eumaeus atala, pupae. Increased melanization is associated with cooler temperatures. All pupae were 10 d old when the photographs were taken.

Fig. 3 in Life history variations and seasonal polyphenism in Eumaeus atala (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Fig. 3. Eumaeus atala egg development time (d) for different seasons is indicated by different line styles. A separation in development is starting to show between warm season (summer to fall) and cool season (winter to spring).

Fig. 2 in Life history variations and seasonal polyphenism in Eumaeus atala (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Fig. 2. Seasonal temperatures as programmed in environmental chambers. A) Temperatures in the chambers were programmed to match Homestead, Miami temperatures as closely as possible (see discussion) and B) degree-day units were analyzed using a Baskerville–Emin adjustment (see discussion). Bars indicate standard error.

Fig. 1. Percival environmental chambers housing Eumaeus atala. A in Life history variations and seasonal polyphenism in Eumaeus atala (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Fig. 1. Percival environmental chambers housing Eumaeus atala. A) Interior view of fabric housing cages in the Percival chambers and B) plastic 'deli-box' larval cages inside with host plant material and young Eumaeus atala larvae.

publicMar 2022View details →

Data accompanying Polyphenisms and polymorphisms: genetic variation in plasticity and color variation within and among bluefin killifish populations

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publicApr 2022View details →

Photoperiod controls wing polyphenism in a water strider independently of insulin receptor signaling

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opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

Predictability of temporal variation in climate and the evolution of seasonal polyphenism in tropical butterflies

Phenotypic plasticity in heterogeneous environments can provide tight environment-phenotype matching. However, the pre-requisite is a reliable environmental cue(s) that enables organisms to use current environmental information to induce the development of a phenotype with high fitness in a forthcoming environment. Here we quantify predictability in the timing of precipitation and temperature change to examine how this is associated with seasonal polyphenism in tropical Mycalesina butterflies. Seasonal precipitation in the tropics typically results in distinct selective environments, the wet- and dry seasons, and changes in temperature can be a major environmental cue. We sampled communities of Mycalesina butterflies from two seasonal and one aseasonal location. Quantifying environmental predictability using wavelet analysis and Colwell's indices confirmed a strong periodicity of precipitation over a 12-month period at both seasonal locations compared to the aseasonal one. However, temperature seasonality and periodicity differed between the two seasonal locations. We further show that: (1) most females from both seasonal locations synchronise their reproduction with the seasons by breeding in the wet season but arresting reproduction in the dry season. In contrast, all species breed throughout the year in the aseasonal location, and (2) species from the seasonal locations, but not those from the aseasonal location, exhibited polyphenism in wing pattern traits (eyespot size). We conclude that seasonal precipitation and its predictability are primary factors shaping the evolution of polyphenism in Mycalesina butterflies, and populations or species secondarily evolve local adaptations for cue use that depend on the local variation in the environment.

opencc-zeroDec 2021View details →

Comparative analysis of phenotypic plasticity sheds light on the evolution and molecular underpinnings of locust phase polyphenism

Locusts exhibit one of nature's most spectacular examples of complex phenotypic plasticity, in which changes in density cause solitary and cryptic individuals to transform into gregarious and conspicuous locusts forming large migrating swarms. We investigated how these coordinated alternative phenotypes might have evolved by studying the Central American locust and three closely related non-swarming grasshoppers in a comparative framework. By experimentally isolating and crowding during nymphal development, we induced density-dependent phenotypic plasticity and quantified the resulting behavioural, morphological, and molecular reaction norms. All four species exhibited clear plasticity, but the individual reaction norms varied among species and showed different magnitudes. Transcriptomic responses were species-specific, but density-responsive genes were functionally similar across species. There were modules of co-expressed genes that were highly correlated with plastic reaction norms, revealing a potential molecular basis of density-dependent phenotypic plasticity. These findings collectively highlight the importance of studying multiple reaction norms from a comparative perspective.

opencc-zeroJun 2024View details →

Data from: Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism

Phenotypic variation in natural populations results from complex interactions between organisms and their changing environments. The environment shapes both phenotypic frequencies (during adaptation) and organismal phenotypes (through phenotypic plasticity). Developmental plasticity, in particular, refers to the phenomenon whereby an organism's phenotype depends on the environmental conditions during development. It can match phenotype to ecological conditions and help organisms to cope with environmental heterogeneity, including differences between alternating seasons. Experimental studies of developmental plasticity often focus on the impact of individual environmental cues and do not take explicit account of genetic variation. In contrast, natural environments are complex, comprising multiple variables with combined effects that are poorly understood and may vary among genotypes. We investigated the effects of multifactorial environments on the development of the seasonally plastic eyespots of Bicyclus anynana butterflies. Eyespot size depends on developmental temperature and is involved in alternative seasonal strategies for predator avoidance. In nature, both temperature and food availability undergo seasonal fluctuations. However, our understanding of how thermal plasticity in eyespot size varies in response to food availability and across genotypes remains limited. To address this, we investigated the combined effects of temperature (T; two levels: 20°C and 27°C) and food availability (N; two levels: control and limited) during development. We examined their impact on wing and eyespot size in adult males and females from multiple genotypes (G; 28 families). We found evidence of thermal and nutritional plasticity and temperature-by-nutrition interactions (significant TxN) on the size of eyespots in both sexes. Food limitation resulted in relatively smaller eyespots and tempered the effects of temperature. Additionally, we found differences among families for thermal plasticity (significant GxT effects), but not for nutritional plasticity (non-significant GxN effects) nor for the combined effects of temperature and food limitation (non-significant GxTxN effects). Our results reveal the context dependence of thermal plasticity, with the slope of thermal reaction norms varying across genotypes and across nutritional environments. We discuss these results in light of the ecological significance of pigmentation and the value of considering thermal plasticity in studies of the biological impact of climate change.

opencc-zeroFeb 2023View details →

A sexually-selected male weapon characterised by strong additive genetic variance and no evidence for sexually antagonistic polyphenic maintenance

Sexual selection and sexual antagonism are important drivers of eco-evolutionary processes. The evolution of traits shaped by these processes depends on their genetic architecture, which remains poorly studied. Here, implementing a quantitative genetics approach using diallel crosses of the bulb mite, Rhizoglyphus robini, we investigated the genetic variance that underlies a sexually-selected weapon that is dimorphic among males and female fecundity. Previous studies indicated that a negative genetic correlation between these two traits likely exists. We found male morph showed considerable additive genetic variance, which is unlikely to be explained solely by mutation-selection balance, indicating the likely presence of large-effect loci. However, a significant magnitude of inbreeding depression also indicates that morph expression is likely to be condition-dependent to some degree and that deleterious recessives can simultaneously contribute to morph expression. Female fecundity also showed a high degree of inbreeding depression, but variance in female fecundity was mostly explained by epistatic effects, with very little contribution from additive effects. We found no significant genetic correlation, nor any evidence for dominance reversal, between male morph and female fecundity. The complex genetic architecture underlying male morph and female fecundity in this system has important implications for our understanding of the evolutionary interplay between purifying selection and sexually antagonistic selection.

opencc-zeroJun 2023View details →

The role of environmental variation in mediating fitness tradeoffs for an amphibian polyphenism

Fitness tradeoffs are a foundation of ecological and evolutionary theory because tradeoffs can explain life history variation, phenotypic plasticity, and the existence of polyphenisms. Using a 32-year mark-recapture dataset on lifetime fitness for 1,093 adult Arizona tiger salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum) from a high elevation, polyphenic population, we evaluated the extent to which two life history morphs (aquatic paedomorphs vs terrestrial metamorphs) exhibited fitness tradeoffs in breeding and body condition with respect to environmental variation (e.g., climate) and internal state-based variables (e.g., age). Both morphs displayed a similar response to higher probabilities of breeding during years of high spring precipitation (i.e., not indicative of a morph-specific fitness tradeoff). There were likely no climate-induced fitness tradeoffs on breeding state for the two life history morphs because precipitation and water availability are vital to amphibian reproduction. Body condition displayed a contrasting response for the two morphs that was indicative of a climate-induced fitness tradeoff. While metamorphs exhibited a positive relationship with summer snowpack conditions, paedomorphs were unaffected. Fitness tradeoffs from summer snowpack are likely due to extended hydroperiods in temporary ponds, where metamorphs gain a fitness advantage during the summer growing season by exploiting resources that are unavailable to paeodomorphs. However, paedomorphs appear to have the overwintering fitness advantage because they consistently had higher body condition than metamorphs at the start of the summer growing season. Our results reveal that climate and habitat type (metamorphs as predominately terrestrial, paedomorphs as fully aquatic) interact to confer different advantages for each morph. These results advance our current understanding of fitness tradeoffs in this well-studied polyphenic amphibian by integrating climate-based mechanisms. Our conclusions prompt future studies to explore how climatic variation can maintain polyphenisms and promote life history diversity, as well as the implications of climate change for polyphenisms.

publicFeb 2023View details →

A sexually-selected male weapon characterised by strong additive genetic variance and no evidence for sexually antagonistic polyphenic maintenance

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publicMar 2025View details →

RNA sequencing data for polyphenic and monophenic Manduca sexta strains

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publicFeb 2020View details →

Data from: Regulators of an ancient polyphenism evolved through episodic protein divergence and parallel gene radiations

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publicAug 2024View details →

Data from: Climate mediates the tradeoffs associated with phenotypic plasticity in an amphibian polyphenism

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