Investigating the molecular basis of local adaptation to thermal stress: population differences in gene expression across the transcriptome of the copepod Tigriopus californicus.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Geographic variation in the thermal environment impacts a broad range of biochemical and physiological processes and can be a major selective force leading to local population adaptation. In the intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus, populations along the coast of California show differences in thermal tolerance that are consistent with adaptation, i.e., southern populations withstand thermal stresses that are lethal to northern populations. To understand the genetic basis of these physiological differences, we use an RNA-seq approach to compare genome-wide patterns of gene expression in two populations known to differ in thermal tolerance.

Results

Observed differences in gene expression between the southern (San Diego) and the northern (Santa Cruz) population

SUBMITTER: Schoville SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3499277 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature