Evolution at two time frames: Polymorphisms from an ancient singular divergence event fuel contemporary parallel evolution.

ABSTRACT: When environments change, populations may adapt surprisingly fast, repeatedly and even at microgeographic scales. There is increasing evidence that such cases of rapid parallel evolution are fueled by standing genetic variation, but the source of this genetic variation remains poorly understood. In the saltmarsh beetle Pogonus chalceus, short-winged 'tidal' and long-winged 'seasonal' ecotypes have diverged in response to contrasting hydrological regimes and can be repeatedly found along the Atlantic European coast. By analyzing genomic variation across the beetles' distribution, we reveal that alleles selected in the tidal ecotype are spread across the genome and evolved during a singular and, likely, geographically isolated divergence event, within the last 190 Kya. Due to subsequent admi

SUBMITTER: Van Belleghem SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6258555 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature