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 (), 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 performed a reciprocal transfer experiment of stream- and pond-originated salamander larvae and analyzed changes in morphology and transcriptomic profile (using species-specific microarrays). We observed that stream- and pond-originated individuals diverge in morphology and gene expression. For instance, pond-originated larvae have larger gills, likely to cope with oxygen-poor ponds. When transferred to streams, pond-originated larvae showed a high degree of plasticity, resembling the morphology and gene expression of stream-originated larvae (reversion); however the same was not found for stream-originated larvae when transferred to ponds, where the expression of genes related to reduction-oxidation processes was increased, possibly to cope with environmental stress. The lack of symmetrical responses between transplanted animals highlights the fact that the adaptations are not fully plastic and that some level of local adaptation has already occurred in this population. This study illuminates the process by which phenotypic plasticity allows local adaptation to new environments and its potential role in the pathway of incipient speciation.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes10110875 | DOI Listing |
AoB Plants
January 2025
Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Local adaptation is a common phenomenon that helps plant populations to adjust to broad-scale environmental heterogeneity. Given the strong effect of forest management on the understorey microenvironment and often long-term effects of forest management actions, it seems likely that understorey herbs may have locally adapted to the practiced management regime and induced environmental variation. We investigated the response of and to forest management using a transplant experiment along a silvicultural management intensity gradient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Affect Disord Rep
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Institute for Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK.
Background: Addressing perinatal psychological distress in Sierra Leone faces challenges due to the lack of culturally appropriate assessment tools, despite recent WHO recommendations for screening during the pre- and postpartum periods. While high-income countries use tools like the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale or Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), their cross-cultural validity and efficacy in developing countries are uncertain. The aim of this study was to address this gap by developing a functional assessment tool, culturally appropriate screening tool for perinatal psychological distress, and validate it with the PHQ-9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF3 Biotech
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Crop Research Unit (Genetics and Plant Breeding), Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal 741252 India.
A protocol for micropropagation of potato ( L.) cv. Cooch Behar local retaining the fidelity of the in vitro regenerants was established for the first time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant Commun
January 2025
Department of Tropical Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
Populations are continually adapting to their environment. Knowledge of which populations and individuals harbor unique and agriculturally useful variation has the potential to accelerate crop adaptation to the increasingly challenging environments predicted for the coming century. Landscape genomics, which identifies associations between environmental and genomic variation, provides a means for obtaining this knowledge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Pediatr
January 2025
Maternal, Adolescent, Reproductive, & Child Health Centre, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Background: The Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) indicators are essential in monitoring neonatal healthcare coverage and quality. The District Health Information System (DHIS2), an open-source platform in over 80 countries, supports health data collection and analysis, enabling progress tracking at national and subnational levels. This study evaluates the availability and quality of maternal and newborn health indicators, explicitly focusing on ENAP indicators within Tanzania's DHIS2.
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