Publication Date:
2016-08-30
Description:
We examine the interaction between phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary adaptation
using muscle gene expression levels among populations of the fish Fundulus heteroclitus
acclimated to three temperatures. Our analysis reveals shared patterns of phenotypic
plasticity due to thermal acclimation as well as non-neutral patterns of variation
among populations adapted to different thermal environments. For the majority of significant
differences in gene expression levels, phenotypic plasticity and adaptation
operate on different suites of genes. The subset of genes that demonstrate both adaptive
differences and phenotypic plasticity, however, exhibit countergradient variation
of expression. Thus, expression differences among populations counteract environmental
effects, reducing the phenotypic differentiation between populations. Finally, geneby-
environment interactions among genes with non-neutral patterns of expression suggest
that the penetrance of adaptive variation depends on the environmental conditions
experienced by the individual.
Type:
Article
,
PeerReviewed
Format:
text
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