Field cricket genome reveals the footprint of recent, abrupt adaptation in the wild



Pascoal, Sonia, Risse, Judith E, Zhang, Xiao, Blaxter, Mark, Cezard, Timothee, Challis, Richard J, Gharbi, Karim, Hunt, John, Kumar, Sujai, Langan, Emma
et al (show 6 more authors) (2020) Field cricket genome reveals the footprint of recent, abrupt adaptation in the wild. EVOLUTION LETTERS, 4 (1). pp. 19-33.

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Abstract

Evolutionary adaptation is generally thought to occur through incremental mutational steps, but large mutational leaps can occur during its early stages. These are challenging to study in nature due to the difficulty of observing new genetic variants as they arise and spread, but characterizing their genomic dynamics is important for understanding factors favoring rapid adaptation. Here, we report genomic consequences of recent, adaptive song loss in a Hawaiian population of field crickets (<i>Teleogryllus oceanicus</i>). A discrete genetic variant, <i>flatwing</i>, appeared and spread approximately 15 years ago. <i>Flatwing</i> erases sound-producing veins on male wings. These silent flatwing males are protected from a lethal, eavesdropping parasitoid fly. We sequenced, assembled and annotated the cricket genome, produced a linkage map, and identified a <i>flatwing</i> quantitative trait locus covering a large region of the X chromosome. Gene expression profiling showed that <i>flatwing</i> is associated with extensive genome-wide effects on embryonic gene expression. We found that flatwing male crickets express feminized chemical pheromones. This male feminizing effect, on a different sexual signaling modality, is genetically associated with the <i>flatwing</i> genotype. Our findings suggest that the early stages of evolutionary adaptation to extreme pressures can be accompanied by greater genomic and phenotypic disruption than previously appreciated, and highlight how abrupt adaptation might involve suites of traits that arise through pleiotropy or genomic hitchhiking.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Adaptation, feminization, genomics, rapid evolution, sexual signaling, trait loss
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 24 May 2021 09:29
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 22:45
DOI: 10.1002/evl3.148
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/evl3.148
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3123855