The population genetics of crypsis in vertebrates: recent insights from mice, hares, and lizards

How predictable is adaptation from standing genetic variation? Experimental evolution in Drosophila highlights the central role of redundancy and linkage disequilibrium

Experimental evolution is well-suited to test the predictability of evolution without the confounding effects of inaccurate forecasts about future environments. Most of the literature about parallel (and thus predictable) evolution has been carried out in asexual microorganisms, which adapt by de novo mutations. Nevertheless, parallel evolution has also been studied in sexual species at the genomic level. Here, I review the evidence for parallel evolution in Drosophila, the best-studied obligatory outcrossing model for adaptation from standing genetic variation in the laboratory. Similar to asexual microorganisms, evidence for parallel evolution varies between the focal hierarchical levels. Selected phenotypes consistently respond in a very predicable way, but the underlying allele frequency changes are much less predictable. The most important insight is that the predictability of the genomic selection response for polygenic traits depends highly on the founder population and to a much lesser extent on the selection regime. This implies that predicting adaptive genomic response is challenging and requires a good understanding of the adaptive architecture (including linkage disequilibrium) in the ancestral populations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Interdisciplinary approaches to predicting evolutionary biology'.

Repeated genetic adaptation to altitude in two tropical butterflies

Repeated evolution can provide insight into the mechanisms that facilitate adaptation to novel or changing environments. Here we study adaptation to altitude in two tropical butterflies, Heliconius erato and H. melpomene, which have repeatedly and independently adapted to montane habitats on either side of the Andes. We sequenced 518 whole genomes from altitudinal transects and found many regions differentiated between highland (~ 1200 m) and lowland (~ 200 m) populations. We show repeated genetic differentiation across replicate populations within species, including allopatric comparisons. In contrast, there is little molecular parallelism between the two species. By sampling five close relatives, we find that a large proportion of divergent regions identified within species have arisen from standing variation and putative adaptive introgression from high-altitude specialist species. Taken together our study supports a role for both standing genetic variation and gene flow from independently adapted species in promoting parallel local adaptation to the environment.

Here, the authors study adaptation to altitude in 518 whole genomes from two species of tropical butterflies. They find repeated genetic differentiation within species, little molecular parallelism between these species, and introgression from closely related species, concluding that standing genetic variation promotes parallel local adaptation.

Recommendations for improving statistical inference in population genomics

The field of population genomics has grown rapidly in response to the recent advent of affordable, large-scale sequencing technologies. As opposed to the situation during the majority of the 20th century, in which the development of theoretical and statistical population genetic insights outpaced the generation of data to which they could be applied, genomic data are now being produced at a far greater rate than they can be meaningfully analyzed and interpreted. With this wealth of data has come a tendency to focus on fitting specific (and often rather idiosyncratic) models to data, at the expense of a careful exploration of the range of possible underlying evolutionary processes. For example, the approach of directly investigating models of adaptive evolution in each newly sequenced population or species often neglects the fact that a thorough characterization of ubiquitous nonadaptive processes is a prerequisite for accurate inference. We here describe the perils of these tendencies, present our consensus views on current best practices in population genomic data analysis, and highlight areas of statistical inference and theory that are in need of further attention. Thereby, we argue for the importance of defining a biologically relevant baseline model tuned to the details of each new analysis, of skepticism and scrutiny in interpreting model fitting results, and of carefully defining addressable hypotheses and underlying uncertainties.

The effect of albinism on avian predator attack rates in eastern garter snakes

Albinism is a conspicuous and distinctive phenotype arising from the absence of melanin in the integument that has been documented in all major vertebrate groups. With few exceptions, albinism is rare in natural populations, suggesting that it incurs significant fitness costs as compared to wild-type phenotypes. One possible explanation for this rarity is that albinos experience higher predation risk as compared to wild-type individuals. We tested this hypothesis by comparing rates of attack by avian predators on immobile clay model proxies that mimicked wild-type and albino eastern garter snakes (Thamnophis s. sirtalis) at Bond Swamp in central Georgia, USA; two mixed pattern treatments provided intermediate phenotypes for comparison. Surprisingly, we found no difference in attack rate across all four model treatments, nor among pairs of treatments (i.e., wild-type-like vs. albino-like models). This indicates that albino garter snakes are not subject to higher predation risk from birds due to coloration alone, and that other factors (correlated pathologies of albinism, thermoregulatory challenges, mate selection) are likely to be more important in explaining the rarity of albinism in snakes and perhaps other vertebrate groups.

Evolutionary and Ecological Explanations for the Elevational Flexibility of Several East African Bird Species Complexes

Africa’s montane areas are broken up into several large and small units, each isolated as forest-capped “sky islands” in a “sea” of dry lowland savanna. Many elements of their biota, including montane forest birds, are shared across several disjunct mountains, yet it has been difficult to rigorously define an Afromontane forest avifauna, or determine its evolutionary relationships with the birds of the surrounding lowland forests. In order to trace the historical relationship between lowland and highland avifaunas, we review cases of species or groups of closely related species with breeding populations at different elevations, and use phylogeographic methods to explore the historical connections between such populations within the biodiversity hotspot of East Africa. The study reveals several idiosyncratic patterns, but also a prominent number of cases of gene flow between populations in southern areas, mainly around the Malawi Rift, and mountains and coastal forests to the north, close to the equator. This may reflect more continuous past distributions through northern Mozambique and coastal Tanzania, or seasonal migrations between areas with different rainfall regimes. Over time, these distributional dynamics have resulted in a higher persistence of lineages, and an accumulation of forest-dependent lineages within the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and the northern part of the coastal forest mosaic.

First record of albinism in spiny rats of genus Proechimys (Rodentia: Echimyidae) from Western Amazon

Albinism is a rare condition in natural populations. One of the factors that would lead to higher allele frequency for the albino phenotype is bottleneck events, causing small population sizes and loss of genetic diversity. Here, we report the first record of albinism in one specimen of Proechimys gardneri from Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil. This is also the first record of albinism for the genus and for the family Echimyidae. We identified the specimen through morphology and confirmed the identification by 801 base pairs (bp) of mitochondrial marker cytochrome b (Cyt b). We also discuss the selection against albino phenotype in natural populations.

Genetics and Evolution of Mammalian Coat Pigmentation

The diversity of mammalian coat colors, and their potential adaptive significance, have long fascinated scientists as well as the general public. The recent decades have seen substantial improvement in our understanding of their genetic bases and evolutionary relevance, revealing novel insights into the complex interplay of forces that influence these phenotypes. At the same time, many aspects remain poorly known, hampering a comprehensive understanding of these phenomena. Here we review the current state of this field and indicate topics that should be the focus of additional research. We devote particular attention to two aspects of mammalian pigmentation, melanism and pattern formation, highlighting recent advances and outstanding challenges, and proposing novel syntheses of available information. For both specific areas, and for pigmentation in general, we attempt to lay out recommendations for establishing novel model systems and integrated research programs that target the genetics and evolution of these phenotypes throughout the Mammalia.

Functional colour genes and signals of selection in colour-polymorphic salamanders

Coloration has been associated with multiple biologically relevant traits that drive adaptation and diversification in many taxa. However, despite the great diversity of colour patterns present in amphibians the underlying molecular basis is largely unknown. Here, we use insight from a highly colour-variable lineage of the European fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra bernardezi) to identify functional associations with striking variation in colour morph and pattern. The three focal colour morphs-ancestral black-yellow striped, fully yellow and fully brown-differed in pattern, visible coloration and cellular composition. From population genomic analyses of up to 4,702 loci, we found no correlations of neutral population genetic structure with colour morph. However, we identified 21 loci with genotype-phenotype associations, several of which relate to known colour genes. Furthermore, we inferred response to selection at up to 142 loci between the colour morphs, again including several that relate to coloration genes. By transcriptomic analysis across all different combinations, we found 196 differentially expressed genes between yellow, brown and black skin, 63 of which are candidate genes involved in animal coloration. The concordance across different statistical approaches and 'omic data sets provide several lines of evidence for loci linked to functional differences between colour morphs, including TYR, CAMK1 and PMEL. We found little association between colour morph and the metabolomic profile of its toxic compounds from the skin secretions. Our research suggests that current ecological and evolutionary hypotheses for the origins and maintenance of these striking colour morphs may need to be revisited.

Recent population genomic insights into the genetic basis of arsenic tolerance in humans: the difficulties of identifying positively selected loci in strongly bottlenecked populations

Recent advances in genomics have enabled researchers to shed light on the evolutionary processes driving human adaptation, by revealing the genetic architectures underlying traits ranging from lactase persistence, to skin pigmentation, to hypoxic response, to arsenic tolerance. Complicating the identification of targets of positive selection in modern human populations is their complex demographic history, characterized by population bottlenecks and expansions, population structure, migration, and admixture. In particular, founder effects and recent strong population size reductions, such as those experienced by the indigenous peoples of the Americas, have severe impacts on genetic variation that can lead to the accumulation of large allele frequency differences between populations due to genetic drift rather than natural selection. While distinguishing the effects of demographic history from selection remains challenging, neglecting neutral processes can lead to the incorrect identification of candidate loci. We here review the recent population genomic insights into the genetic basis of arsenic tolerance in Andean populations, and utilize this example to highlight both the difficulties pertaining to the identification of local adaptations in strongly bottlenecked populations, as well as the importance of controlling for demographic history in selection scans.