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Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
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Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
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Evolutionary genomics of environmental pollution.

Andrew Whitehead1

  • 1Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA, awhitehead@ucdavis.edu.

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|November 27, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Species face evolutionary challenges from chemical toxins. Modern genomics helps understand how populations adapt to human-introduced pollutants and their environmental impacts.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Environmental toxicology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Chemical toxins have historically driven evolutionary adaptations in life.
  • Human-introduced pollutants are rapidly altering environments, challenging species' adaptive capacities.
  • Understanding ancient adaptations is key to addressing contemporary environmental toxin challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the evolutionary history of adaptation to environmental toxins.
  • To describe factors facilitating contemporary adaptation to human-introduced pollutants.
  • To explore the mechanistic basis of adaptation using modern genomic tools.

Main Methods:

  • Review of deep evolutionary history of adaptation to toxins.
  • Description of population and stressor attributes for adaptation.

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  • Application of genome-scale tools to uncover adaptation mechanisms.
  • Integration of historical evolutionary forces with modern genomics.

    • Main Results:

    • Phenotypic adaptations to polluted habitats can be multi-dimensional.
    • Genomics can reveal pollutant-genome interactions on physiological timescales.
    • Genomic attributes enabling population resistance to pollutants over evolutionary timescales can be identified.

    Conclusions:

    • Modern genomics offers powerful tools to study adaptation to pollutants.
    • Integrating historical and genomic approaches deepens understanding of ecological-evolutionary dynamics.
    • A comprehensive understanding of adaptation mechanisms is emerging through advanced genomic research.