TY - JOUR

T1 - Adapting to climate with limited genetic diversity

T2 - Nucleotide, DNA methylation and microbiome variation among populations of the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola

AU - Aagaard, Anne

AU - Liu, Shenglin

AU - Tregenza, Tom

AU - Braad Lund, Marie

AU - Schramm, Andreas

AU - Verhoeven, Koen J.F.

AU - Bechsgaard, Jesper

AU - Bilde, Trine

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Molecular Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2022/11

Y1 - 2022/11

N2 - Understanding the role of genetic and nongenetic variants in modulating phenotypes is central to our knowledge of adaptive responses to local conditions and environmental change, particularly in species with such low population genetic diversity that it is likely to limit their evolutionary potential. A first step towards uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying population-specific responses to the environment is to carry out environmental association studies. We associated climatic variation with genetic, epigenetic and microbiome variation in populations of a social spider with extremely low standing genetic diversity. We identified genetic variants that are associated strongly with environmental variation, particularly with average temperature, a pattern consistent with local adaptation. Variation in DNA methylation in many genes was strongly correlated with a wide set of climate parameters, thereby revealing a different pattern of associations than that of genetic variants, which show strong correlations to a more restricted range of climate parameters. DNA methylation levels were largely independent of cis-genetic variation and of overall genetic population structure, suggesting that DNA methylation can work as an independent mechanism. Microbiome composition also correlated with environmental variation, but most strong associations were with precipitation-related climatic factors. Our results suggest a role for both genetic and nongenetic mechanisms in shaping phenotypic responses to local environments.

AB - Understanding the role of genetic and nongenetic variants in modulating phenotypes is central to our knowledge of adaptive responses to local conditions and environmental change, particularly in species with such low population genetic diversity that it is likely to limit their evolutionary potential. A first step towards uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying population-specific responses to the environment is to carry out environmental association studies. We associated climatic variation with genetic, epigenetic and microbiome variation in populations of a social spider with extremely low standing genetic diversity. We identified genetic variants that are associated strongly with environmental variation, particularly with average temperature, a pattern consistent with local adaptation. Variation in DNA methylation in many genes was strongly correlated with a wide set of climate parameters, thereby revealing a different pattern of associations than that of genetic variants, which show strong correlations to a more restricted range of climate parameters. DNA methylation levels were largely independent of cis-genetic variation and of overall genetic population structure, suggesting that DNA methylation can work as an independent mechanism. Microbiome composition also correlated with environmental variation, but most strong associations were with precipitation-related climatic factors. Our results suggest a role for both genetic and nongenetic mechanisms in shaping phenotypic responses to local environments.

KW - adaptation

KW - DNA methylation

KW - low evolutionary potential

KW - microbiome

KW - phenotypic plasticity

KW - social spiders

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138904756&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/mec.16696

DO - 10.1111/mec.16696

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36112081

AN - SCOPUS:85138904756

VL - 31

SP - 5765

EP - 5783

JO - Molecular Ecology

JF - Molecular Ecology

SN - 0962-1083

IS - 22

ER -