The relative importance of genetic and nongenetic inheritance in relation to trait plasticity inCallosobruchus maculatus

Abstract

A trait's response to natural selection will reflect the nature of the inheritance mechanisms that mediate the transmission of variation across generations. The relative importance of genetic and nongenetic mechanisms of inheritance is predicted to be related to the degree of trait plasticity, with nongenetic inheritance playing a greater role in the cross-generational transmission of more plastic traits. However, this prediction has never been tested. We investigated the influence of genetic effects and nongenetic parental effects in two morphological traits differing in degree of plasticity by manipulating larval diet quality within a cross-generational split-brood experiment using the seed beetle Callososbuchus maculatus. In line with predictions, we found that the more plastic trait (elytron length) is strongly influenced by both maternal and paternal effects whereas genetic variance is undetectable. In contrast, the less plastic trait (first abdominal sternite length) is not influenced by parental effects but exhibits abundant genetic variance. Our findings support the hypothesis that environment-dependent parental effects may play a particularly important role in highly plastic traits and thereby affect the evolutionary response of such traits.

Offspring Provisioning Explains Clone-Specific Maternal Age Effects on Life History and Life Span in the Water Flea,Daphnia pulex

“…Understanding how genetic and nongenetic inheritance mechanisms interact to shape trait variation may be crucial for understanding how traits evolve Hallsson et al 2012;Danchin 2013;Townley and Ezard 2013). With respect to the evolution of senes-cence, the role that nongenetic inheritance plays has been understudied (Priest et al 2002).…”

“…Irrespective of the mechanism, our results suggest that genetic and nongenetic effects determine the life histories of offspring. The nature of inheritance underpinning trait variation in any population is important, because it may greatly alter the response of the trait to selection Danchin et al 2011;Hallsson et al 2012). Nongenetic inheritance is especially likely to influence the evolution of environmentally sensitive traits, because nongenetic in-heritance can be considered an environmental component from the perspective of the genotype.…”

“…Evolutionary theories of aging predict that between-individual differences in rates of senescence should have a heritable genetic basis (reviewed in Rose 1991); this hypothesis is supported by the results of numerous laboratory-based experiments (reviewed in Flatt and Schmidt 2009;Partridge 2009) and evidence from wild populations (Charmantier et al 2006;Wilson et al 2007). However, there is an increasing realization that parents may also alter the phenotypes of their offspring via nongenetic inheritance mechanisms, such as the transmission of epigenetic variation, the transmission of plastic phenotypes (acquired traits), and the effects of parental environment and state on offspring phenotype (Uller 2008;Bonduriansky and Day 2009;Danchin and Wagner 2010;Danchin et al 2011;Bonduriansky 2012;Hallsson et al 2012;Danchin 2013). However, we are only just beginning to investigate how genetic and nongenetic inheritance mechanisms combine to shape offspring traits (Badyaev and Uller 2009;Bonduriansky and Day 2009;Hallsson et al 2012;Danchin 2013;Townley and Ezard 2013;Uller 2013).…”

“…However, there is an increasing realization that parents may also alter the phenotypes of their offspring via nongenetic inheritance mechanisms, such as the transmission of epigenetic variation, the transmission of plastic phenotypes (acquired traits), and the effects of parental environment and state on offspring phenotype (Uller 2008;Bonduriansky and Day 2009;Danchin and Wagner 2010;Danchin et al 2011;Bonduriansky 2012;Hallsson et al 2012;Danchin 2013). However, we are only just beginning to investigate how genetic and nongenetic inheritance mechanisms combine to shape offspring traits (Badyaev and Uller 2009;Bonduriansky and Day 2009;Hallsson et al 2012;Danchin 2013;Townley and Ezard 2013;Uller 2013). Parental age effects on offspring life histories offer an example of nongenetic inheritance that is especially interesting with respect to the evolution of aging and life span (Priest et al 2002).…”

Offspring development and life‐history variation in a water flea depends upon clone‐specific integration of genetic, non‐genetic and environmental cues

“…Plasticity and non‐genetic inheritance are therefore able to alter the direction and the speed of evolution, generate phenotypic novelty, and potentially decouple phenotypic change from genotypic change altogether (West‐Eberhard ; Galloway & Etterson ; Bonduriansky & Day ; Day & Bonduriansky ). The incorporation of plasticity and non‐genetic inheritance into a more inclusive evolutionary synthesis potentially changes our assumptions about how populations evolve and respond to rapid environmental change (Bonduriansky, Crean & Day ; Hallsson, Chenoweth & Bonduriansky ), and places a much greater emphasis on understanding how genes, non‐genetic inheritance and environmental variation combine to shape phenotypic evolution (Day & Bonduriansky ; Leimar & McNamara ).…”