How genes interact with the environment to shape phenotypic variation and evolution is a fundamental question intriguing to biologists from various fields. Existing linear models built on single genes are inadequate to reveal the complexity of genotype-environment (G-E) interactions. Here, we develop a conceptual model for mechanistically dissecting G-E interplay by integrating previously disconnected theories and methods. Under this integration, evolutionary game theory, developmental modularity theory, and a variable selection method allow us to reconstruct environment-induced, maximally informative, sparse, and casual multilayer genetic networks. We design and conduct two mapping experiments by using a desert-adapted tree species to validate the biological application of the model proposed. The model identifies previously uncharacterized molecular mechanisms that mediate trees' response to saline stress. Our model provides a tool to comprehend the genetic architecture of trait variation and evolution and trace the information flow of each gene toward phenotypes within omnigenic networks.

Tonkinacris is a small group in Acrididae. While a few species were occasionally sampled in some previous molecular studies, there is no revisionary research devoted to the genus. In this study, we explored the phylogeny of and the relationships among Chinese species of the genus Tonkinacris using the mitochondrial COI barcode and the complete sequences of ITS1 and ITS2 of the nuclear ribosomal DNA. The phylogeny was reconstructed in maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference frameworks, respectively. The overlap range between intraspecific variation and interspecific divergence was assessed via K2P distances. Species boundaries were delimitated using phylogenetic species concept, NJ tree, K2P distance, the statistical parsimony network as well as the GMYC model. The results demonstrate that the Chinese Tonkinacris species is a monophyletic group and the phylogenetic relationship among them is (T. sinensis, (T. meridionalis, (T. decoratus, T. damingshanus))). While T. sinensis, T. meridionalis and T. decoratus were confirmed being good independent species strongly supported by both morphological and molecular evidences, the validity of T. damingshanus was not perfectly supported by molecular evidence in this study.