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Genome-wide Parallelism Underlies Rapid Freshwater Adaptation Fueled by Standing Genetic Variation in a Wild Fish
Hao Yang1,2,3, Yu-Long Li1,2, Teng-Fei Xing1,2
1Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
Molecular Biology and Evolution
|July 3, 2025
Summary
Natural populations rapidly adapt to environmental changes through complex polygenic architecture, primarily using existing genetic variations. This study reveals the genetic basis for freshwater adaptation in Neosalanx brevirostris.
Area of Science:
- Ecological and evolutionary biology
- Population genomics
- Genetics of adaptation
Background:
- Understanding how natural populations adapt to environmental changes is crucial.
- Rapid parallel phenotypic evolution offers insights into adaptation genetics.
- Neosalanx brevirostris provides a model for studying rapid adaptation.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the genetic architecture of rapid parallel freshwater adaptation in Neosalanx brevirostris.
- Compare freshwater-resident populations with their anadromous ancestors.
- Elucidate the role of standing genetic variation in adaptation.
Main Methods:
- Population genomic approaches were employed.
- Four freshwater-resident populations were compared to one anadromous ancestral population.
- Genome-wide adaptive variations and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Rapid freshwater adaptation followed a complex polygenic architecture.
- Genomic-level parallelism occurred through selection on standing genetic variations.
- Adaptive SNPs involved in osmoregulation, locomotion, and metabolism showed significant allele frequency shifts.
Conclusions:
- Standing genetic variation is crucial for rapid adaptation to environmental changes.
- The study highlights the mechanisms of rapid evolution in natural populations.
- Pre-existing genetic variations facilitated adaptation to fluctuating salinities.
Keywords:
allele frequency changescomplex traitsparallel evolutionpolygenic adaptationrapid adaptationstanding genetic variationMore Related Videos
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