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Adaptive introgression enables evolutionary rescue from extreme environmental pollution
Elias M Oziolor1,2,3, Noah M Reid4, Sivan Yair2
1Department of Environmental Science, Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research (CRASR), and Institute for Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|May 4, 2019
Summary
Gulf killifish rapidly evolved toxicant resistance through genetic changes, with a key adaptation involving the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) pathway. Interspecies gene flow, likely human-assisted, provided crucial adaptive variation for survival.
Area of Science:
- Environmental science
- Evolutionary biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Environmental change can limit genetic variation needed for evolutionary rescue.
- Gulf killifish in polluted areas show rapid adaptation to toxicants.
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling is crucial in toxicant response.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the genetic basis of toxicant resistance in Gulf killifish.
- Determine the relationship between pollution levels, AHR signaling, and resistance.
- Identify the sources of genetic variation enabling rapid adaptation.
Main Methods:
- Quantified toxicant resistance across pollution gradients.
- Assessed AHR signaling inducibility.
- Analyzed genomic loci under recent selection.
- Examined introgression from related species.
Main Results:
- Toxicant resistance scaled with pollution levels and inversely correlated with AHR signaling inducibility.
- Loci with strong selection signatures contained genes regulating AHR signaling.
- Two key loci recently introgressed from Atlantic killifish.
- A deletion in the AHR gene conferred a significant adaptive advantage (s = 0.8).
Conclusions:
- Recent adaptive introgression, likely human-mediated, provided critical genetic variation for Gulf killifish.
- Interspecies gene flow can be a vital source of adaptive variation during rapid environmental change.
- The AHR pathway is a major target for adaptation to pollution.
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