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Procedure for Adaptive Laboratory Evolution of Microorganisms Using a Chemostat

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Published on: September 20, 2016

Evolution of a polyphenism by genetic accommodation.

Yuichiro Suzuki¹, H Frederik Nijhout

¹Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. ys16@duke.edu

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|February 4, 2006

Summary

A mutation revealed hidden genetic variation in Manduca sexta larval coloration under heat stress. This led to the evolution of a color polyphenism, demonstrating how hormone regulation can facilitate adaptive evolution.

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Developmental Biology
Genetics

Background:

Polyphenisms are environmentally-induced, discrete phenotypic variations from a single genome.
The evolutionary origins of polyphenisms remain poorly understood.
Developmental pathways can mask underlying genetic variation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the mechanisms underlying the origin of polyphenisms.
To explore the role of genetic variation and environmental stress in polyphenism evolution.
To understand how developmental hormone pathways influence adaptive phenotypic plasticity.

Main Methods:

Utilized Manduca sexta as a model organism.
Introduced a mutation in the juvenile hormone-regulatory pathway.

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Applied heat stress to reveal latent reaction norms of larval coloration.

Applied selection for increased color change in response to heat.

Main Results:

A juvenile hormone pathway mutation uncovered a hidden reaction norm for larval coloration under heat stress.
Selection for heat-induced color change led to the evolution of a larval color polyphenism.
Genetic accommodation resulted in altered hormonal titers correlated with the evolved polyphenism.

Conclusions:

Developmental hormone regulation can act as an evolutionary capacitor, masking genetic variation.
This masking facilitates the emergence of novel adaptive phenotypes, such as polyphenisms.
The study provides a mechanism for the origin of adaptive phenotypic plasticity.