Complementary genetic and epigenetic changes facilitate rapid adaptation to multiple global change stressors.

ABSTRACT: To persist under unprecedented rates of global change, populations can adapt or acclimate. However, how these resilience mechanisms interact, particularly the role of epigenetic variation in long-term adaptation, is unknown. To address this gap, we experimentally evolved the foundational marine copepod Acartia tonsa for 25 generations under ocean acidification, warming, and their combination and then measured epigenomic, genomic, and transcriptomic responses. We observed clear and consistent epigenomic and genomic divergence between treatments, with epigenomic divergence concentrated in genes related to stress response and the regulation of transposable elements. However, epigenetic and genetic changes were inversely related and occurred in different regions of the genome; levels of

SUBMITTER: Brennan RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12305003 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature