Evolution: How Fruit Flies Adapt to Seasonal Stresses

Williams, Karen D.; Sokolowski, Marla B.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.11.035

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This general gene response is the background on which evolutionary changes may be operating during evolution (Waddington 1961). In fact, some environmental stress‐detecting genes that have been modelled by evolution (Williams & Sokolowski 2009) like have also been detected in our analysis.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Spaceflight-related suboptimal conditions can accentuate the altered gravity response of Drosophila transcriptome

et al. 2010

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Genome-wide transcriptional profiling shows that reducing gravity levels during Drosophila metamorphosis in the International Space Station (ISS) causes important alterations in gene expression: a large set of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are observed compared to 1g controls. However, the preparation procedures for spaceflight and the nonideal environmental conditions on board the ISS subject the organisms to additional environmental stresses that demonstrably affect gene expression. Simulated microgravity experiments performed on the ground, under ideal conditions for the flies, using the random position machine (RPM), show much more subtle effects on gene expression. However, when the ground experiments are repeated under conditions designed to reproduce the additional environmental stresses imposed by spaceflight procedures, 79% of the DEGs detected in the ISS are reproduced by the RPM experiment. Gene ontology analysis of them shows they are genes that affect respiratory activity, developmental processes and stress-related changes. Here, we analyse the effects of microgravity on gene expression in relation to the environmental stresses imposed by spaceflight. Analysis using 'gene expression dynamics inspector' (GEDI) self-organizing maps reveals a subtle response of the transcriptome to microgravity. Remarkably, hypergravity simulation induces similar response of the transcriptome, but in the opposite direction, i.e. the genes promoted under microgravity are usually suppressed under hypergravity. These results suggest that the transcriptome is finely tuned to normal gravity and that microgravity, together with environmental constraints associated with space experiments, can have profound effects on gene expression.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Spaceflight-related suboptimal conditions can accentuate the altered gravity response of Drosophila transcriptome

et al. 2010

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“…However, some evidence for local adaptation to abiotic environments has been found in D . melanogaster populations, for example in terms of a correlation between local climate and ability to enter diapause [ 53 ] or between altitude and desiccation resistance [ 54 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival Rate and Transcriptional Response upon Infection with the Generalist Parasite Beauveria bassiana in a World-Wide Sample of Drosophila melanogaster

et al. 2015

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The ability to cope with infection by a parasite is one of the major challenges for any host species and is a major driver of evolution. Parasite pressure differs between habitats. It is thought to be higher in tropical regions compared to temporal ones. We infected Drosophila melanogaster from two tropical (Malaysia and Zimbabwe) and two temperate populations (the Netherlands and North Carolina) with the generalist entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana to examine if adaptation to local parasite pressures led to differences in resistance. Contrary to previous findings we observed increased survival in temperate populations. This, however, is not due to increased resistance to infection per se, but rather the consequence of a higher general vigor of the temperate populations. We also assessed transcriptional response to infection within these flies eight and 24 hours after infection. Only few genes were induced at the earlier time point, most of which are involved in detoxification. In contrast, we identified more than 4,000 genes that changed their expression state after 24 hours. This response was generally conserved over all populations with only few genes being uniquely regulated in the temperate populations. We furthermore found that the American population was transcriptionally highly diverged from all other populations concerning basal levels of gene expression. This was particularly true for stress and immune response genes, which might be the genetic basis for their elevated vigor.

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“…Temperature and photoperiod are environmental factors providing signals that regulate the induction of stress responses (Teets & Denlinger, ; Tyukmaeva, Salminen, Kankare, Knott, & Hoikkala, ; Williams & Sokolowski, ). For example, hardening or acclimation responses induced by thermal variation can modulate resistance to temperature extremes as well as impact upon starvation and desiccation resistance (Alemu, Alemneh, Pertoldi, Ambelu, & Bahrndorff, ; Parkash, Aggarwal, Singh, Lambhod, & Ranga, ; Schou, Loeschcke, & Kristensen, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, the importance of photoperiod was not observed in a nearby highland population generally experiencing lower temperatures. The species‐ and population‐specific effects of photoperiod suggest that responses have a genetic basis and/or can be affected by assay conditions (Williams & Sokolowski, ). Apart from the effects of photoperiod on thermal resistance, Fischer et al () showed that photoperiod is important for a range of life‐history traits including growth rate, development time, and body size in Protophormia terraenovae and for many of the traits investigated results showed interactions between temperature and photoperiod.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of photoperiod on life‐history and thermal stress resistance traits across populations of Drosophila subobscura

Moghadam

Novičić

Pertoldi

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Introduction Organisms use environmental cues to match their phenotype with the future availability of resources and environmental conditions. Changes in the magnitude and frequency of environmental cues such as photoperiod and temperature along latitudes can be used by organisms to predict seasonal changes. While the role of temperature variation on the induction of plastic and seasonal responses is well established, the importance of photoperiod for predicting seasonal changes is less explored. Materials and methods Here we studied changes in life‐history and thermal stress resistance traits in Drosophila subobscura in response to variation in photoperiod (6:18, 12:12 and 18:6 light:dark cycles) mimicking seasonal variations in day length. The populations of D. subobscura were collected from five locations along a latitudinal gradient (from North Africa and Europe). These populations were exposed to different photoperiods for two generations, whereafter egg‐to‐adult viability, productivity, dry body weight, thermal tolerance, and starvation resistance were assessed. Results We found strong effects of photoperiod, origin of populations, and their interactions on life‐history and stress resistance traits. Thermal resistance varied between the populations and the effect of photoperiod depended on the trait and the method applied for the assessment of thermal resistance. Perspectives Our results show a strong effect of the origin of population and photoperiod on a range of fitness‐related traits and provide evidence for local adaptation to environmental cues (photoperiod by population interaction). The findings emphasize an important and often neglected role of photoperiod in studies on thermal resistance and suggest that cues induced by photoperiod may provide some buffer enabling populations to cope with a more variable and unpredictable future climate.

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Evolution: How Fruit Flies Adapt to Seasonal Stresses

Abstract: Fruit flies inhabit a wide range of latitudes, requiring adaptation to the varying local climates. A recent study reports evidence that the ability of North American flies to endure the winter involves adaptive polymorphism of the couch potato gene.

Cited by 7 publications

References 21 publications

Spaceflight-related suboptimal conditions can accentuate the altered gravity response of Drosophila transcriptome

Spaceflight-related suboptimal conditions can accentuate the altered gravity response of Drosophila transcriptome

Survival Rate and Transcriptional Response upon Infection with the Generalist Parasite Beauveria bassiana in a World-Wide Sample of Drosophila melanogaster

Effects of photoperiod on life‐history and thermal stress resistance traits across populations of Drosophila subobscura

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