Genomic Insights Into Early-Stage Selective Filtering During the Transport Stage of Biological Invasions

Area of Science:

• Marine biology
• Evolutionary biology
• Ecology

Background:

• Marine biological invasions are a significant global change threat.
• Evolutionary processes during maritime transport are poorly understood.
• Invasive ascidian Ciona robusta is a model organism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if transport-related stress imposes genotype-dependent filtering.
• To characterize genome-wide responses to environmental filtering during transport.
• To understand evolutionary changes in invasive species.

Main Methods:

• High-salinity selection experiments with Ciona robusta.
• Quantification of survival dynamics.
• Whole-genome resequencing and transcriptomic profiling of survivors.

Main Results:

• Significant genotype-dependent mortality differences under hypersaline conditions.
• Identification of genomic regions with genetic differentiation and allele frequency shifts, especially in osmoregulatory genes.
• Genotype-specific gene expression patterns indicating functional relevance of variants.

Conclusions:

• Transport stress acts as an evolutionary filter, driving genotype-dependent survival.
• Genomic signatures of selection were observed in response to transport stress.
• Integrating transport as an evolutionary filter is crucial for invasion risk frameworks and management.