Adaptive patterns of phenotypic plasticity in laboratory and field environments in Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: Identifying mechanisms of adaptation to variable environments is essential in developing a comprehensive understanding of evolutionary dynamics in natural populations. Phenotypic plasticity allows for phenotypic change in response to changes in the environment, and as such may play a major role in adaptation to environmental heterogeneity. Here, the plasticity of stress response in Drosophila melanogaster originating from two distinct geographic regions and ecological habitats was examined. Adults were given a short-term, 5-day exposure to combinations of temperature and photoperiod to elicit a plastic response for three fundamental aspects of stress tolerance that vary adaptively with geography. This was replicated both in the laboratory and in outdoor enclosures in the field. In the labo

SUBMITTER: Mathur V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5299052 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature