The Role of Plasticity and Adaptation in the Incipient Speciation of a Fire Salamander Population.

ABSTRACT: Phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation via genetic change are two major mechanisms of response to dynamic environmental conditions. These mechanisms are not mutually exclusive, since genetic change can establish similar phenotypes to plasticity. This connection between both mechanisms raises the question of how much of the variation observed between species or populations is plastic and how much of it is genetic. In this study, we used a structured population of fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra), in which two subpopulations differ in terms of physiology, genetics, mate-, and habitat preferences. Our goal was to identify candidate genes for differential habitat adaptation in this system, and to explore the degree of plasticity compared to local adaptation. We therefore per

SUBMITTER: Sabino-Pinto J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6896149 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature