genetics
How can flies adapt via many interchangeable alleles?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Ten D. simulans replicates converged phenotypically under a new temperature regime, but used largely different selected alleles—evidence for genetic redundancy.
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How can flies adapt via many interchangeable alleles?
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10 replicate populations were exposed to a new temperature regime.
We exposed 10 replicates of a Drosophila simulans population to a new temperature regime and uncovered a polygenic architecture of an adaptive trait with high genetic redundancy among beneficial alleles.
99 selected alleles with mean selection coefficient 0.059.
We observed convergent responses for several phenotypes—e.g., fitness, metabolic rate, and fat content—and a strong polygenic response (99 selected alleles; mean s = 0.059).
Key findings
Convergent fitness/metabolic/fat phenotypes with a strong polygenic response (99 selected alleles; mean s = 0.059), yet each allele rose only in a subset of replicates. Redundancy/QT paradigms fit better than independent selective-sweep simulations.
Methodology
Used laboratory natural selection on 10 replicate Drosophila simulans populations under a new temperature regime, tracking phenotypes and allele-frequency changes for selective sweeps vs polygenic adaptation.
Limitations
Lab temperature selection is not a direct map of wild climate adaptation; molecular non-convergence does not mean phenotypes lack shared physiological mechanisms.
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