Environment-dependent selection impacts heritable developmental stability and trait canalization in rice.

ABSTRACT: Canalization, or the maintenance of trait values regardless of environmental or genetic variability, is fundamentally important for maintaining developmental stability. While this concept was described decades ago, we still know relatively little about how canalization is influenced by environmental stress, how it is shaped by natural selection, and the genetic underpinnings of canalization. In this study, we examined natural selection on microenvironmental canalization in rice (Oryza sativa) in wet and dry field conditions. We measured developmental stability in genetically identical replicates obtained from geographically widespread Indica and Japonica rice accessions, providing precise estimates of canalization in thousands of plants. We found that drought stress decreased canali

SUBMITTER: Dunivant TS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12262515 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature