A single-nucleotide change underlies the genetic assimilation of a plastic trait

Genetic assimilation-the evolutionary process by which an environmentally induced phenotype is made constitutive-represents a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology. Thought to reflect adaptive phenotypic plasticity, matricidal hatching in nematodes is triggered by maternal nutrient deprivation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science advances 2021-02, Vol.7 (6)
Main Authors: Vigne, Paul, Gimond, Clotilde, Ferrari, Céline, Vielle, Anne, Hallin, Johan, Pino-Querido, Ania, El Mouridi, Sonia, Mignerot, Laure, Frøkjær-Jensen, Christian, Boulin, Thomas, Teotónio, Henrique, Braendle, Christian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics
Life Sciences
Populations and Evolution
SciAdv r-articles
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Summary:Genetic assimilation-the evolutionary process by which an environmentally induced phenotype is made constitutive-represents a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology. Thought to reflect adaptive phenotypic plasticity, matricidal hatching in nematodes is triggered by maternal nutrient deprivation to allow for protection or resource provisioning of offspring. Here, we report natural populations harboring genetic variants expressing a derived state of near-constitutive matricidal hatching. These variants exhibit a single amino acid change (V530L) in KCNL-1, a small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel subunit. This gain-of-function mutation causes matricidal hatching by strongly reducing the sensitivity to environmental stimuli triggering egg-laying. We show that reestablishing the canonical KCNL-1 protein in matricidal isolates is sufficient to restore canonical egg-laying. While highly deleterious in constant food environments, KCNL-1 V530L is maintained under fluctuating resource availability. A single point mutation can therefore underlie the genetic assimilation-by either genetic drift or selection-of an ancestrally plastic trait.
ISSN:2375-2548
2375-2548
DOI:10.1126/sciadv.abd9941