Experimental Evolution in a Warming World: The Omics Era.

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Genetics
• Climate change research

Background:

• Predicting species' responses to climate change requires understanding genetic adaptation to thermal variation.
• Experimental evolution, particularly evolve and resequence (E&R) studies, is a powerful tool for investigating the genetic basis of adaptation.
• Despite a rise in E&R studies on thermal adaptation, knowledge integration remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize findings from thermal evolve and resequence studies.
• To identify key trends and knowledge gaps in the genetic basis of thermal adaptation.
• To propose methodological improvements for future research.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of experimental evolution studies using high-throughput resequencing.
• Analysis of trends in genetic architecture and targets of selection in thermal adaptation.
• Identification of research gaps concerning taxa diversity, environmental relevance, and trait integration.

Main Results:

• Thermal adaptation is often highly polygenic, involving many genes.
• Candidate genes under selection show little consistency across different studies.
• Adaptive responses appear to be largely specific to particular environments.

Conclusions:

• Future research should broaden taxa diversity and employ more dynamic, ecologically relevant thermal environments.
• Integrating genomic data with life history and behavioral traits is essential for a complete genotype-phenotype understanding.
• Standardizing methodologies and leveraging new technologies will enhance the study of thermal adaptation.