Spatial and temporal heterogeneity alter the cost of plasticity in Pristionchus pacificus

Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a single genotype to produce distinct phenotypes under different environmental conditions, has become a leading concept in ecology and evolutionary biology, with the most extreme examples being the formation of alternative phenotypes (polyphenisms). However, sev...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS computational biology 2024-01, Vol.20 (1), p.e1011823-e1011823
Main Authors: Kalirad, Ata, Sommer, Ralf J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Physiological
Analysis
Animals
Biological Evolution
Costs
Developmental biology
Economic aspects
Environmental aspects
Environmental conditions
Genetic aspects
Genotype
Genotype & phenotype
Genotypes
Heterogeneity
Metapopulations
Natural history
Nematoda
Nematoda - genetics
Parameters
Phenotype
Phenotypes
Phenotypic plasticity
Plastic properties
Plasticity
Pristionchus pacificus
Young adults
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a single genotype to produce distinct phenotypes under different environmental conditions, has become a leading concept in ecology and evolutionary biology, with the most extreme examples being the formation of alternative phenotypes (polyphenisms). However, several aspects associated with phenotypic plasticity remain controversial, such as the existence of associated costs. While already predicted by some of the pioneers of plasticity research, i.e. Schmalhausen and Bradshaw, experimental and theoretical approaches have provided limited support for the costs of plasticity. In experimental studies, one common restriction is the measurement of all relevant parameters over long time periods. Similarly, theoretical studies rarely use modelling approaches that incorporate specific experimentally-derived fitness parameters. Therefore, the existence of the costs of plasticity remains disputed. Here, we provide an integrative approach to understand the cost of adaptive plasticity and its ecological ramifications, by combining laboratory data from the nematode plasticity model system Pristionchus pacificus with a stage-structured population model. Taking advantage of measurements of two isogenic strains grown on two distinct diets, we illustrate how spatial and temporal heterogeneity with regard to the distribution of resources on a metapopulation can alter the outcome of the competition and alleviate the realized cost of plasticity.
ISSN:1553-7358
1553-734X
1553-7358
DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011823