Phenotypic plasticity evolves at multiple biological levels in response to environmental predictability in a long-term experiment with a halotolerant microalga.

ABSTRACT: Phenotypic plasticity, the change in the phenotype of a given genotype in response to its environment of development, is a ubiquitous feature of life, enabling organisms to cope with variation in their environment. Theoretical studies predict that, under stationary environmental variation, the level of plasticity should evolve to match the predictability of selection at the timing of development. However, the extent to which patterns of evolution of plasticity for more integrated traits are mirrored by their underlying molecular mechanisms remains unclear, especially in response to well-characterized selective pressures exerted by environmental predictability. Here, we used experimental evolution with the microalgae Dunaliella salina under controlled environmental fluctuations, to test whe

SUBMITTER: Leung C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10075460 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature