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- Title
Genetic signals of local adaptation in a desert rodent that occupies diverse climates and plant communities.
- Authors
Farleigh, Keaka; Jezkova, Tereza
- Abstract
Context: Environmental heterogeneity across species distributions creates diverse conditions that individual populations encounter. As a result, local selective pressures vary across a species range, leading to individual populations becoming locally adapted and therefore better suited to their environment. Recent advances in genomics and bioinformatics allow us to identify genetic signatures of selection. Objectives: We searched for genetic signals of selection in populations of the chisel-toothed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys microps), a species that occupies two distinct plant assemblages and a wide range of climatic conditions in the American southwest. Methods: We used double digest Restriction Site Associated DNA sequencing to generate a dataset of 42,890 single nucleotide polymorphisms from 180 individuals belonging to 30 populations. We used genome-environment association and gene ontology methods to identify genetic loci showing significant association with environmental variables, compare the strength of selection across the species distribution, and link loci under selection to genes and gene functions. Results: We identified over 2000 genetic loci that show correlation with climatic conditions (mean temperature of the warmest quarter, mean temperature of the wettest quarter, precipitation of the coldest quarter, and precipitation of the warmest quarter) and vegetation (represented by normalized difference vegetation index or a binary classification). Candidate loci were located within gene transcripts associated with development, thermal tolerance, and behavior. We detected the strongest signals of selection in populations that expanded into novel habitat after the Last Glacial Maximum. Our results corroborate the phenotypic differences among populations identified in previous studies. Conclusions: Our results show how environmental heterogeneity drives selection-driven intraspecific variation. This highlights the importance to consider local adaptation of individual populations in assessing conservation needs and developing species management plans.
- Subjects
GREAT Basin; MOJAVE Desert; NORMALIZED difference vegetation index; PLANT communities; LAST Glacial Maximum; SINGLE nucleotide polymorphisms; SPECIES distribution; FLOWERING time; ACCLIMATIZATION
- Publication
Landscape Ecology, 2023, Vol 38, Issue 12, p3269
- ISSN
0921-2973
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10980-023-01774-z