Evolution and plasticity of gene expression under progressive warming in
Drosophila subobscura
- Marta Antunes
, - Marta Santos,
- Ana Quina,
- Mauro Santos
, - Margarida Matos,
- Pedro Simões
Ana Quina
Egas Moniz School of Health and Science Egas Moniz Center for Interdisciplinary Research
Author ProfilePedro Simões
Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa
Author ProfileAbstract
Understanding the molecular mechanisms of thermal adaptation is crucial
to predict the impacts of global warming. However, there is still a lack
of research on the effects of rising temperatures over time, and of
studies involving different populations from the same species. The
present study focuses on these two aspects, which have been shown to be
of great importance in understanding how organisms cope and adapt to
ongoing changes in their environment. This study investigates the impact
of global warming on the gene expression patterns of Drosophila
subobscura populations from two different latitudinal locations after 23
generations of thermal evolution. Our results indicate that
transcriptomic changes due to selection are contingent on the genetic
background of the populations, with the high-latitude population
exhibiting more pronounced changes. We found an interplay between
plasticity and selection, with the high latitude population showing
fewer initial plastic genes and lower levels of adaptive plasticity, but
a greater magnitude of change in both plastic and selective responses
during evolution under warming conditions compared to its low latitude
counterpart. A substantial proportion of the transcriptome was observed
to be subject to selection, despite the lack of observable response at
the higher level of organisation. The interplay between plasticity and
selection may prove to be an essential component in shaping species'
evolutionary responses to climate change. Furthermore, the value of
conducting studies on multiple populations of the same species is
emphasised, given the identification of differences between populations
with different backgrounds in several contexts.Submitted to Molecular Ecology Submission Checks Completed
Assigned to Editor
Reviewer(s) Assigned
05 Jul 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
05 Jul 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned