How underlying mechanisms bias evolution toward predictable outcomes remains an area of active debate. In this study, we leveraged phenotypic plasticity and parallel adaptation across independent lineages of Trinidadian guppies (
The notorious plasticity of gene expression responses and the complexity of environmental gradients complicate the identification of adaptive differences in gene regulation among populations. We combined transcriptome analyses in nature with common‐garden and exposure experiments to establish cause–effect relationships between the presence of a physiochemical stressor and expression differences, as well as to test how evolutionary change and plasticity interact to shape gene expression variation in natural systems. We studied two evolutionarily independent population pairs of an extremophile fish (
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10043814
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Molecular Ecology
- Volume:
- 26
- Issue:
- 22
- ISSN:
- 0962-1083
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 6384-6399
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Poecilia reticulata ) to assess the predictability of gene expression evolution during parallel adaptation. Trinidadian guppies have repeatedly and independently adapted to high‐ and low‐predation environments in the wild. We combined this natural experiment with a laboratory breeding design to attribute transcriptional variation to the genetic influences of population of origin and developmental plasticity in response to rearing with or without predators. We observed substantial gene expression plasticity, as well as the evolution of expression plasticity itself, across populations. Genes exhibiting expression plasticity within populations were more likely to also differ in expression between populations, with the direction of population differences more likely to be opposite those of plasticity. While we found more overlap than expected by chance in genes differentially expressed between high‐ and low‐predation populations from distinct evolutionary lineages, the majority of differentially expressed genes were not shared between lineages. Our data suggest alternative transcriptional configurations associated with shared phenotypes, highlighting a role for transcriptional flexibility in the parallel phenotypic evolution of a species known for rapid adaptation. -
Abstract microRNAs (miRNAs) are post‐transcriptional regulators of gene expression and can play an important role in modulating organismal development and physiology in response to environmental stress. However, the role of miRNAs in mediating adaptation to diverse environments in natural study systems remains largely unexplored. Here, we characterized miRNAs and their expression in
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