University of Oulu

Meyer‐Lucht, Y, Luquet, E, Jóhannesdóttir, F, et al. Genetic basis of amphibian larval development along a latitudinal gradient: Gene diversity, selection and links with phenotypic variation in transcription factor C/EBP‐1. Mol Ecol. 2019; 28: 2786–2801. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15123

Genetic basis of amphibian larval development along a latitudinal gradient : gene diversity, selection and links with phenotypic variation in transcription factor C/EBP‐1

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Author: Meyer‐Lucht, Yvonne1; Luquet, Emilien2; Jóhannesdóttir, Fríða3,4;
Organizations: 1Animal Ecology/Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
2Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
3Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
4Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
5Department of Population Genetics, Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
Format: article
Version: published version
Access: open
Online Access: PDF Full Text (PDF, 1 MB)
Persistent link: http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi-fe2019093030533
Language: English
Published: John Wiley & Sons, 2019
Publish Date: 2020-05-08
Description:

Abstract

Ectotherm development rates often show adaptive divergence along climatic gradients, but the genetic basis for this variation is rarely studied. Here, we investigated the genetic basis for phenotypic variation in larval development in the moor frog Rana arvalis from five regions along a latitudinal gradient from Germany to northern Sweden. We focused on the C/EBP‐1 gene, a transcription factor associated with larval development time. Allele frequencies at C/EBP‐1 varied strongly among geographical regions. Overall, the distribution of alleles along the gradient was in concordance with the dual post‐glacial colonization routes into Scandinavia, with a large number of alleles exclusively present along the southern colonization route. Only three of 38 alleles were shared between the routes. Analysis of contemporary selection on C/EBP‐1 showed divergent selection among the regions, probably reflecting adaptation to the local environmental conditions, although this was especially strong between southern and northern regions coinciding also with lineages from different colonization routes. Overall, the C/EBP‐1 gene has historically been under purifying selection, but two specific amino acid positions showed significant signals of positive selection. These positions showed divergence between southern and northern regions, and we suggest that they are functionally involved in the climatic adaptation of larval development. Using phenotypic data from a common garden experiment, we found evidence for specific C/EBP‐1 alleles being correlated with larval development time, suggesting a functional role in adaptation of larval development to large‐scale climatic variation.

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Series: Molecular ecology
ISSN: 0962-1083
ISSN-E: 1365-294X
ISSN-L: 0962-1083
Volume: 28
Issue: 11
Pages: 2786 - 2801
DOI: 10.1111/mec.15123
OADOI: https://oadoi.org/10.1111/mec.15123
Type of Publication: A1 Journal article – refereed
Field of Science: 1181 Ecology, evolutionary biology
1184 Genetics, developmental biology, physiology
Subjects:
Funding: The study was financially supported by the Swedish Research Council (project 621‐2013‐4503 to A.L.), Carl Tryggers Stiftelse för Vetenskaplig Forskning (to Y.M.L., E.L.) and Zoologiska stiftelsen (Y.M.L., E.L.).
Dataset Reference: The C/EBP‐1 nucleotide sequences are available at GenBank with accession numbers: MK749692–MK749729. The data including C/EBP‐1 and SNP genotypes and common garden phenotypes are available from the Dryad Digital Repository: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2508t4h.
  https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2508t4h
Copyright information: © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Meyer‐Lucht, Y, Luquet, E, Jóhannesdóttir, F, et al. Genetic basis of amphibian larval development along a latitudinal gradient: Gene diversity, selection and links with phenotypic variation in transcription factor C/EBP‐1. Mol Ecol. 2019; 28: 2786–2801, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15123. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving