Environmental variation partitioned into separate heritable components |
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Authors: | Michael Ørsted Ary Anthony Hoffmann Peter Sørensen Torsten Nygaard Kristensen |
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Affiliation: | 1. Section of Biology and Environmental Science, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark;2. School of Biosciences, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, AustraliaThese authors contributted equally to this work.;3. School of Biosciences, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia;4. Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, Denmark;5. Section of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark |
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Abstract: | Trait variation is normally separated into genetic and environmental components, yet genetic factors also control the expression of environmental variation, encompassing plasticity across environmental gradients and within‐environment responses. We defined four components of environmental variation: plasticity across environments, variability in plasticity, variation within environments, and differences in within‐environment variation across environments. We assessed these components for cold tolerance across five rearing temperatures using the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP). The four components were found to be heritable, and genetically correlated to different extents. By whole genome single marker regression, we detected multiple candidate genes controlling the four components and showed limited overlap in genes affecting them. Using the binary UAS‐GAL4 system, we functionally validated the effects of a subset of candidate genes affecting each of the four components of environmental variation and also confirmed the genetic and phenotypic correlations obtained from the DGRP in distinct genetic backgrounds. We delineate selection targets associated with environmental variation and the constraints acting upon them, providing a framework for evolutionary and applied studies on environmental sensitivity. Based on our results we suggest that the traditional quantitative genetic view of environmental variation and genotype‐by‐environment interactions needs revisiting. |
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Keywords: | Cold tolerance DGRP environmental variation genetic control plasticity |
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