Molecular Ecology最新文献

{"title":"An Early-Life Disruption of Gut Microbiota Has Opposing Effects on Parasite Resistance in Two Host Species.","authors":"Ashley C Love, Mia L Nahom, Jessica Gutierrez, Lauren Albert, Sarah A Knutie","doi":"10.1111/mec.17595","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17595","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gut microbiota regulate multiple aspects of host health, including metabolism and the development of the immune system. However, we still know relatively little about how the gut microbiota influences host responses to parasitism in wild organisms, particularly whether host-microbiota interactions contribute to variation in parasitism across host species. The goal of this study was to determine the role of gut microbiota in shaping how birds respond to nest parasites and investigate whether this relationship varies between host species. Both eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) are parasitized by blow flies (Protocalliphora sialia), for which larval flies feed on nestlings' blood. We experimentally manipulated the gut microbiota of nestling bluebirds and tree swallows by dosing nestlings with an oral antibiotic or sterile water as a control. We then quantified nestling physiology (haemoglobin, glucose, parasite-specific IgY antibody levels), body morphometrics, and survival until fledging, as well as blow fly abundance and size. An experimental disruption of nestling gut microbiota increased parasite abundance in tree swallows, but decreased parasite abundance in bluebirds, which suggests that the disruption has opposing effects on resistance across host species. Furthermore, experimental treatment delayed parasite development and had variable effects on nestling body morphometrics and physiology across the two host species. Together, these results suggest that gut microbiota contribute to host differences in resistance to blow flies and can influence host-parasite interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":" ","pages":"e17595"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142685479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Michael C. Whitlock-Recipient of the 2024 Molecular Ecology Prize.","authors":"Sam Yeaman","doi":"10.1111/mec.17598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17598","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":" ","pages":"e17598"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142680161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can Transcriptomics Elucidate the Role of Regulation in Invasion Success?","authors":"Amy L Vaughan, Manpreet K Dhami","doi":"10.1111/mec.17583","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17583","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>When a species invades a novel environment, it must bridge the environment-phenotype mismatch in its new range to persist. Contemporary invasion biology research has focused on the role that trait variation and adaptation, and their underlying genomic factors, play in a species' adaptive potential, and thus facilitating invasion. Empirical studies have provided valuable insights into phenotypes that persist and arise in novel environments, coupled with 'omics tools that further the understanding of the contributions of genomic architecture in species establishment. Particularly, the use of transcriptomics to explore the role of plasticity in the initial stages of an invasion is growing. Here, we assess the role of various mechanisms relating to regulation and functional adaptation (often measured via the transcriptome) that support trait-specific plasticity in invasive species, allowing phenotypic variability without directly altering genomic diversity. First, we present a comprehensive review of the studies utilising transcriptomics in invasion biology. Second, we collate the evidence for and against the role of a range of regulatory processes in contributing to invasive species plasticity. Finally, we pose open questions in invasion biology where the use of transcriptome data may be valuable, as well as discuss the methodological limitations.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":" ","pages":"e17583"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142613283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Natural Hybrid Zone of Swordtails Reveals Molecular Insights Into the Adaptive Genomic Basis of Thermal Tolerance","authors":"Carina M. Lai,&nbsp;Brenna C. M. Stanford,&nbsp;Sean M. Rogers","doi":"10.1111/mec.17584","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17584","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Environmental stressors influence phenotypic variation at all biological levels—from molecular and tissue specific mechanisms to whole organism performance—necessitating highly integrative approaches when studying the evolution of organism responses to the environment. For example, temperature structures patterns of biodiversity across the globe and is pivotal in shaping physiological, behavioural and morphological traits. Indeed, as an ‘abiotic master factor’ (Sunday, Bates, and Dulvy &lt;span&gt;2012&lt;/span&gt;; Walther et al. &lt;span&gt;2002&lt;/span&gt;), temperature can induce changes in the expression of thousands of genes and a plethora of biological pathways (Bhardwaj et al. &lt;span&gt;2015&lt;/span&gt;; Long et al. &lt;span&gt;2013&lt;/span&gt;; Stanford et al. &lt;span&gt;2020&lt;/span&gt;). While thermotolerance has been identified as the fastest evolving trait in nature (Barrett et al. &lt;span&gt;2011&lt;/span&gt;), determining its genomic architecture has been undeniably challenging. Now, in this issue of Molecular Ecology, Payne et al. (&lt;span&gt;2022&lt;/span&gt;) adopt an integrative approach to understand the molecular mechanisms that contribute to variation in thermotolerance using a powerful natural system of two species of swordtail fish endemic to eastern Mexico and their hybrids. By combining QTL mapping, gene expression, population ancestry and thermotolerance data in experimental and natural populations, the authors uncover evidence of extensive genetic incompatibilities leading to a reduction in hybrid thermotolerance. Payne et al.'s findings highlight the highly polygenic and modular nature of thermotolerance and the potential negative consequences of hybridisation for the performance of ecological traits.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For their study, the authors used two parental species, &lt;i&gt;Xiphophorus malinche&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;X. birchmanni&lt;/i&gt;, that occur at high and low elevation streams, respectively, and exhibit natural variation in thermotolerance. Hybridisation occurs at intermediate elevations where parental ranges overlap, resulting in natural hybrid zones with varying degrees of hybrid ancestry and intermediate thermotolerance (Figure 1.). Hybrid zones have long been considered natural windows into the genetics of adaptation and evolution of speciation (Harrison &lt;span&gt;1993&lt;/span&gt;). Due to incomplete reproductive isolation, recombination in hybrid crosses can unveil a wide multitude of novel genotypes that have yet to be removed by natural selection. Hybrid zones thus offer valuable insights when characterising the genetic basis of ecological traits and their underlying adaptive mechanisms.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Payne et al. (&lt;span&gt;2022&lt;/span&gt;) leverage their study system using both artificial crosses (from wild-caught pure parental individuals) and natural hybrid populations to test how hybridisation has influenced the evolution of thermotolerance, and apply a broad range of genomic methods to link gene regulation with biological phenotypes associated with thermal responses. They first use a quantitative trait locus (QTL) map","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":"33 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.17584","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142613280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome-Wide Population Structure in a Marine Keystone Species, the European Flat Oyster (Ostrea edulis).","authors":"Homère J Alves Monteiro, Dorte Bekkevold, George Pacheco, Stein Mortensen, Runyang Nicolas Lou, Nina O Therkildsen, Arnaud Tanguy, Chloé Robert, Pierre De Wit, Dorte Meldrup, Ane T Laugen, Philine S E Zu Ermgassen, Åsa Strand, Camille Saurel, Jakob Hemmer-Hansen","doi":"10.1111/mec.17573","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17573","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ostrea edulis, the European flat oyster, was once a widespread economically and ecologically important marine species, but has suffered dramatic declines over the past two centuries. Consequently, there has been a surge in European restoration efforts, many of which focus on restocking as a conservation measure. In this study, we used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data to investigate the population structure, demographic history, and patterns of local adaptation of O. edulis across its natural distribution with increased sampling densities at Scandinavian localities. Results revealed seven distinct genetic clusters, including previously undescribed complex population structure in Norway, and evidence for introgression between genetic clusters in Scandinavia. We detected large structural variants (SVs) on three pseudo-chromosomes. These megabase long regions were characterised by strong linkage disequilibrium and clear geographical differentiation, suggestive of chromosomal inversions potentially associated with local adaptation. The results indicated that genomic traces of past translocations of non-native O. edulis were still present in some individuals, but overall, we found limited evidence of major impacts of translocations on the scale of contemporary population structure. Our findings highlight the importance of considering population structure and signatures of selection in the design of effective conservation strategies to preserve and restore wild native European flat oyster populations, and we provide direct knowledge safeguarding sustainable mitigation actions in this important species.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":" ","pages":"e17573"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142613301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Successful Invasion Into New Environments Without Evidence of Rapid Adaptation by a Predatory Marine Gastropod","authors":"Blair P. Bentley,&nbsp;Brian S. Cheng,&nbsp;Reid S. Brennan,&nbsp;John D. Swenson,&nbsp;Jamie L. Adkins,&nbsp;Andrew R. Villeneuve,&nbsp;Lisa M. Komoroske","doi":"10.1111/mec.17575","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17575","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Invasive species with native ranges spanning strong environmental gradients are well suited for examining the roles of selection and population history in rapid adaptation to new habitats, providing insight into potential evolutionary responses to climate change. The Atlantic oyster drill (<i>Urosalpinx cinerea</i>) is a marine snail whose native range spans the strongest coastal latitudinal temperature gradient in the world, with invasive populations established on the US Pacific coast. Here, we leverage this system using genome-wide SNPs and environmental data to examine invasion history and identify genotype–environment associations indicative of local adaptation across the native range, and then assess evidence for allelic frequency shifts that would signal rapid adaptation within invasive populations. We demonstrate strong genetic structuring among native regions which aligns with life history expectations, identifying southern New England as the source of invasive populations. Then, we identify putatively thermally adaptive loci across the native range but find no evidence of allele frequency shifts in invasive populations that suggest rapid adaptation to new environments. Our results indicate that while these loci may underpin local thermal adaptation in their native range, selection is relaxed in invasive populations, perhaps due to complex polygenic architecture underlying thermal traits and/or standing capacity for phenotypic plasticity. Given the prolific invasion of <i>Urosalpinx</i>, our study suggests population success in new environments is influenced by factors other than selection on standing genetic variation that underlies local adaptation in the native range and highlights the importance of considering population history and environmental selection pressures when evaluating adaptive capacity.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":"33 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142613326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thematic Layers of Genomic Susceptibility for Conservation Monitoring.","authors":"Andrew N Black, Jong Yoon Jeon, Andrew J Mularo, Natalie M Allen, Erangi Heenkenda, Julia C Buchanan-Schwanke, John W Bickham, Zachary E Lowe, J Andrew DeWoody","doi":"10.1111/mec.17582","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17582","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Population genomics has great potential to inform applied conservation management and associated policy. However, the bioinformatic analyses and interpretation of population genomic datasets can be daunting and difficult to convey to nonspecialists, including on-the-ground conservationists that work with many state, federal and international agencies. We think that individual population genomic metrics of interest can be interpolated and ultimately distilled into thematic GIS layers that represent spatiotemporal genomic potential (or conversely, susceptibility) in conservation monitoring. As examples relevant to ongoing conservation efforts, we use introgressive hybridisation and individual heterozygosity to illustrate a conceptual approach for mapping population genomic susceptibility. The general framework of thematic layers could be extended to integrate key genomic metrics (e.g., runs of homozygosity and genomic load) that are relevant to many conservation efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":" ","pages":"e17582"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142602690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What Predicts Gene Flow During Speciation? The Relative Roles of Time, Space, Morphology and Climate","authors":"Jeffrey W. Streicher,&nbsp;Shea M. Lambert,&nbsp;Fausto R. Méndez de la Cruz,&nbsp;Norberto Martínez-Méndez,&nbsp;Uri Omar García-Vázquez,&nbsp;Adrián Nieto Montes de Oca,&nbsp;John J. Wiens","doi":"10.1111/mec.17580","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17580","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The processes that restrict gene flow between populations are fundamental to speciation. Here, we develop a simple framework for studying whether divergence in morphology, climatic niche, time and space contribute to reduced gene flow among populations and species. We apply this framework to a model system involving a clade of spiny lizards (<i>Sceloporus</i>) occurring mostly in northeastern Mexico, which show striking variation in morphology and habitat among closely related species and populations. We developed a new time-calibrated phylogeny for the group using RADseq data from 152 individuals. This phylogeny identified 12 putative species-level clades, including at least two undescribed species. We then estimated levels of gene flow among 21 geographically adjacent pairs of species and populations. We also estimated divergence in morphological and climatic niche variables among these same pairs, along with divergence times and geographic distances. Using Bayesian generalised linear models, we found that gene flow between pairs of lineages is negatively related to divergence time and morphological divergence among them (which are uncorrelated), and not to geographic distance or climatic divergence. The framework used here can be applied to study speciation in many other organisms having genomic data but lacking direct data on reproductive isolation. We also found several other intriguing patterns in this system, including the parallel evolution of a strikingly similar montane blue–red morph from more dull-coloured desert ancestors within two different, nonsister species.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":"33 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.17580","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142589946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Habitat Association Predicts Population Connectivity and Persistence in Flightless Beetles: A Population Genomics Approach Within a Dynamic Archipelago","authors":"Emmanouil Meramveliotakis,&nbsp;Joaquín Ortego,&nbsp;Ioannis Anastasiou,&nbsp;Alfried P. Vogler,&nbsp;Anna Papadopoulou","doi":"10.1111/mec.17577","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17577","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Habitat association has been proposed to affect evolutionary dynamics through its control on dispersal propensity, which is considered a key trait for lineage survival in habitats of low durational stability. The Habitat Constraint hypothesis predicts different micro- and macroevolutionary patterns for stable versus dynamic habitat specialists, but the empirical evidence remains controversial and in insects mostly derives from winged lineages. We here use genome-wide SNP data to assess the effect of habitat association on the population dynamics of two closely related flightless lineages of the genus <i>Eutagenia</i> (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), which are co-distributed across the Cyclades islands in the Eastern Mediterranean but are associated with habitat types of different presumed stability: the psammophilous lineage is associated with dynamic sandy coastal habitats, while the geophilous lineage is associated with comparatively stable compact soil habitats. Our comparative population genomic and demographic analyses support higher inter-island gene flow in the psammophilous lineage, presumably due to the physical properties of dynamic sand-dune habitats that promote passive dispersal. We also find consistent bottlenecks in the psammophilous demes, suggesting that lineage evolution in the dynamic habitat is punctuated by local extinction and recolonisation events. The inferred demographic processes are surprisingly uniform among psammophilous demes, but vary considerably among geophilous demes depending on historical island connectivity, indicating more stringent constraints on the dynamic habitat lineage. This study extends the Habitat Constraint hypothesis by demonstrating that selection on dispersal traits is not the only mechanism that can drive consistent differences in evolutionary dynamics between stable versus dynamic habitat specialists.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":"33 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.17577","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142575190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolution of Size-Fecundity Relationship in Medaka Fish From Different Latitudes","authors":"Shingo Fujimoto,&nbsp;Bayu K. A. Sumarto,&nbsp;Iki Murase,&nbsp;Daniel F. Mokodongan,&nbsp;Taijun Myosho,&nbsp;Mitsuharu Yagi,&nbsp;Satoshi Ansai,&nbsp;Jun Kitano,&nbsp;Satoshi Takeda,&nbsp;Kazunori Yamahira","doi":"10.1111/mec.17578","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17578","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In most fishes, the number of offspring increases with maternal body size. Although this size-fecundity relationship often varies among species as a result of the coevolution of life-history traits, the genetic basis of such size-fecundity relationships remains unclear. We explored the genetic basis underlying this size-fecundity relationship in two small medaka species, <i>Oryzias latipes</i> and <i>O. sakaizumii</i>. Our findings showed that <i>O. sakaizumii</i> has a higher fecundity than <i>O. latipes</i>, and quantitative trait locus analysis using interspecific F₂ hybrids showed that chromosome 23 is linked to the size-fecundity relationship. In particular, the genes <i>igf1</i> and <i>lep-b</i> in this region are known to be associated with life-history traits, including somatic growth, gonad maturation, and progeny numbers in various taxa. Because <i>O. sakaizumii</i> is distributed at higher latitudes and has a shorter spawning season than <i>O. latipes</i> in the wild, we propose that the relatively high fecundity observed in <i>O. sakaizumii</i> is an adaptation to high latitudes. We also discuss the potential ecological ramifications associated with the evolution of increased fecundity in this species.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":"33 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.17578","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142581550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}