Importance Of Phenotypic Plasticity Research Articles

Importance of phenotypic plasticity in crop resilience.

This article comments on: Guo T, Wei J, Li X, Yu J. 2024. Environmental context of phenotypic plasticity in flowering time in sorghum and rice. Journal of Experimental Botany 75, 1004–1015.

The Evolution of Phenotypic Plasticity in Response to Temperature Stress.

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of a single genotype to produce different phenotypes in response to environmental variation. The importance of phenotypic plasticity in natural populations and its contribution to phenotypic evolution during rapid environmental change is widely debated. Here, we show that thermal plasticity of gene expression in natural populations is a key component of its adaptation: evolution to novel thermal environments increases ancestral plasticity rather than mean genetic expression. We determined the evolution of plasticity in gene expression by conducting laboratory natural selection on a Drosophila simulans population in hot and cold environments. After more than 60 generations in the hot environment, 325 genes evolved a change in plasticity relative to the natural ancestral population. Plasticity increased in 75% of these genes, which were strongly enriched for several well-defined functional categories (e.g., chitin metabolism, glycolysis, and oxidative phosphorylation). Furthermore, we show that plasticity in gene expression of populations exposed to different temperatures is rather similar across species. We conclude that most of the ancestral plasticity can evolve further in more extreme environments.

The effect of nitrogen and temperature changes on Solidago canadensis phenotypic plasticity and fitness

AbstractPhenotypic plasticity is commonly considered to contribute to the invasion success of invasive species. However, the importance of phenotypic plasticity, nitrogen (N) levels and warming to the invasion of invasive species is unclear. The effects of warming and N addition on the morphology, biomass allocation and biochemistry traits of Solidago canadensis and their plasticity were investigated by conducting a pot experiment. The results showed that the effect of N addition on biomass was improved for S. canadensis; whereas warming displayed no significant effect, their positive synergistic interact effect resulted in the overall significant increase in plant performance. The mean phenotypic plasticity indices (MPPI) of biochemistry and total parameters demonstrated a difference between operations, and the higher value was observed in N interaction with temperature treatments than N addition or warming alone. The observed MPPI indicated the biochemistry parameters > morphological parameters > allocation parameters. The MPPI of biochemistry parameters, morphological parameters and total parameters exhibited significant and positive correlations with N level and MPPI of morphological parameters was also significantly positively correlated with the fitness of S. canadensis. These results indicated that the global warming and N addition would make the invaded habitat more suitable for the growth of invasive S. canadensis, and even may effectively increase the invasion risk of S. canadensis through the enhanced phenotypic plasticity, which is a crucial factor to help species deal with the changing environment.

The importance of phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation in driving intraspecific variability in thermal niches of marine macrophytes

Climate change is driving the redistribution of species at a global scale and documenting and predicting species' responses to warming is a principal focus of contemporary ecology. When interpreting and predicting their responses to warming, species are generally treated as single homogenous physiological units. However, local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity can result in intraspecific differences in thermal niche. Therefore, population loss may also not only occur from trailing edges. In species with low dispersal capacity this will have profound impacts for the species as a whole, as local population loss will not be offset by immigration of warm tolerant individuals. Recent evidence from terrestrial forests has shown that incorporation of intraspecific variation in thermal niche is vital to accurately predicting species responses to warming. However, marine macrophytes (i.e. seagrasses and seaweeds) that form some of the world's most productive and diverse ecosystems have not been examined in the same context. We conducted a literature review to determine how common intraspecific variation in thermal physiology is in marine macrophytes. We find that 90% of studies identified (n = 42) found clear differences in thermal niche between geographically separated populations. Therefore, non‐trailing edge populations may also be vulnerable to future warming trends and given their limited dispersal capacity, such population loss may not be offset by immigration. We also explore how next generation sequencing (NGS) is allowing unprecedented mechanistic insight into plasticity and adaptation. We conclude that in the ‘genomic era’ it may be possible to link understanding of plasticity and adaptation at the genetic level through to changes in populations providing novel insights on the redistribution of populations under future climate change.

Fuel Use in Mammals: Conserved Patterns and Evolved Strategies for Aerobic Locomotion and Thermogenesis.

Effective aerobic locomotion depends on adequate delivery of oxygen and an appropriate allocation of metabolic substrates. The use of metabolic substrates during exercise follows a predictive pattern of lipid and carbohydrate oxidation that is similar in lowland native cursorial mammals. We have found that in two highland lineages of mice (Phyllotis and Peromyscus) the fuel use pattern is shifted to a greater reliance on carbohydrates compared to their lowland conspecifics and congenerics. However, there is variation between lineages in the importance of phenotypic plasticity in the expression of this metabolic phenotype. Moreover, this metabolic phenotype is independent of running aerobic capacity and can also be independent of thermogenic capacity. For example, wild-caught mice from a highland population of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) housed in warm normoxic laboratory conditions maintain higher maximum cold-induced oxygen consumption in acute hypoxia than lowland congenerics, but shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis is supported by high rates of lipid oxidation. This is reflected in the consistently higher activities of oxidative and fatty acid oxidation enzymes in the gastrocnemius of highland deer mice compared to lowlanders, which are resistant to hypoxia acclimation. While a fixed trait in muscle aerobic capacity may reflect the pervasive and unremitting low PO2 at high altitudes, muscle capacities for substrate oxidation may be more flexible to match appropriate substrate use with changing energetic demands. How shivering thermogenesis and locomotion potentially interact in the matching of muscle metabolic capacities to appropriate substrate use is unclear. Perhaps it is possible that shivering serves as "training" to ensure muscles have the capacity to support locomotion or visa-versa.

Ecological release leads to novel ontogenetic diet shift in kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka)

We investigate adaptive resource polymorphism in kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) from Jo-Jo Lake, Alaska, by determining whether previously observed niche expansion occurs at the population or individual level. Utilizing morphological, genetic, and stable isotope techniques, we found no evidence of discrete trophic morphotypes as previously described, but instead found evidence for an ontogenetic diet shift. Carbon and nitrogen isotope data indicate a 40% decrease in the proportion of benthic feeding and an increase of one trophic position over the size and age ranges of adult kokanee, corresponding to a diet shift from consumption of macroinvertebrates in smaller individuals to piscivory in larger individuals. This novel piscivory in kokanee may result from predatory and competitive freedom resulting from the lack of limnetic predators in Jo-Jo Lake. Piscivorous feeding despite a phenotype–environment mismatch has resulted in large, piscivorous kokanee having up to 70% of their gill rakers damaged. Observed reductions in gill raker number relative to the putative ancestral population are convergent with expectations for piscivorous fishes, despite a presumed lack of standing genetic variation for piscivory in the sockeye salmon – kokanee species complex. Jo-Jo Lake kokanee are a distinctive example of adaptation in salmonids in response to ecological release. This unusual population highlights the importance of phenotypic plasticity in response to competition in shaping the adaptive landscape and altering evolutionary trajectories.

Adapting to Change

Adapting to Change

Morphological distinctness despite large-scale phenotypic plasticity—analysis of wild and pond-bred juveniles of allopatric populations of Tropheus moorii

Cichlids are an excellent model to study explosive speciation and adaptive radiation. Their evolutionary success has been attributed to their ability to undergo rapid morphological changes related to diet, and their particular breeding biology. Relatively minor changes in morphology allow for exploitation of novel food resources. The importance of phenotypic plasticity and genetically based differences for diversification was long recognized, but their relationship and relative magnitude remained unclear. We compared morphology of individuals of four wild populations of the Lake Tanganyika cichlid Tropheus moorii with their pond-raised F1 offspring. The magnitude of morphological change via phenotypic plasticity between wild and pond-bred F1 fish exceeds pairwise population differences by a factor of 2.4 (mean Mahalanobis distances). The genetic and environmental effects responsible for among population differentiation in the wild could still be recognized in the pond-bred F1 fish. All four pond populations showed the same trends in morphological change, mainly in mouth orientation, size and orientation of fins, and thickness of the caudal peduncle. As between population differentiation was lower in the wild than differentiation between pond-raised versus wild fish, we suggest the narrow ecological niche and intense interspecific competition in rock habitats is responsible for consistent shape similarity, even among long-term isolated populations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00114-010-0751-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Adaptive phenotypic plasticity and resilience of vertebrates to increasing climatic unpredictability

ABSTRACT: As ecosystems undergo global changes, there is increasing interest in understandinghow organisms respond to changing environments. Recent evidence drawn from available vertebratestudies suggests that most of the phenotypic responses to climate change would be due to plasticity.We hypothesize that organisms that have evolved in unpredictable environments inform us about themechanisms of phenotypic plasticity which provide an adaptive response to climate instability. As cli-mate changes increase climatic hazards, these resilience mechanisms are expected to spread withinspecies, populations and communities. We review studies that have demonstrated the importance ofphenotypic plasticity in different life-history traits in overcoming climate uncertainty. We focus onorganisms from unstable, recurrently energetically restrictive environments which possess a varietyof morphological, physiological and/or behavioural adaptations to climate-driven selective pressures.First, we treat plastic morphological changes in response to fluctuating food availability. Adjustmentof morphometric traits and/or organ size to energy supply would be essential in harsh environments.Second, we review the role of flexible energy-saving mechanisms, such as daily torpor, hibernationand energy storage, in overcoming climate-driven energetic shortages. Lastly, we address the role ofplastic modulation of reproduction in fine-tuning the energy allocation to offspring productionaccording to environmental conditions, with an emphasis on opportunistic breeding. Overall, we pre-dict that species (or genotypes) possessing these efficient physiological mechanisms of resilience tounpredictable water and food fluctuations will be selectively advantaged in the face of increasingclimatic instability.KEY WORDS: Physiological flexibility · Global change · Environmental variability · Extreme climaticevents · Morphology · Energy saving · Reproduction

Plant resource-use strategies: the importance of phenotypic plasticity in response to a productivity gradient for two subalpine species.

Functional traits are indicators of plant interactions with their environment and the resource-use strategies of species can be defined through some key functional traits. The importance of genetic variability and phenotypic plasticity in trait variations in response to a common environmental change was investigated in two subalpine species. Two species with contrasted resource-use strategies, Dactylis glomerata and Festuca paniculata, were grown along a productivity gradient in a greenhouse experiment. Functional traits of different genotypes were measured to estimate the relative roles of phenotypic plasticity and genetic variability, and to compare their levels of phenotypic plasticity. Trait variability in the field for the two species is more likely to be the result of phenotypic plasticity rather than of genetic differentiation between populations. The exploitative species D. glomerata expressed an overall higher level of phenotypic plasticity compared with the conservative species F. paniculata. In addition to different amplitudes of phenotypic plasticity, the two species differed in their pattern of response for three functional traits relevant to resource use (specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content and leaf nitrogen content). Functional trait variability was mainly the result of phenotypic plasticity, with the exploitative species showing greater variability. In addition to average trait values, two species with different resource-use strategies differed in their plastic responses to productivity.

Phenotypic plasticity of Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis in response to nitrogen addition and intraspecific competition

Phenotypic plasticity of the two salt marsh grasses Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis in salt marshes is crucial to their invasive ability, but the importance of phenotypic plasticity, nitrogen levels, and intraspecific competition to the success of the two species is unclear at present. Spartina alterniflora Loisel. is an extensively invasive species that has increased dramatically in distribution and abundance on the Chinese and European coasts, and has had considerable ecological impacts in the regions where it has established. Meanwhile, Phragmites australis Cav., a native salt marsh species on the east coast of China, has replaced the native S. alterniflora in many marshes along the Atlantic Coast of the US. This study determined the effects of nitrogen availability and culm density on the morphology, growth, and biomass allocation traits of Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis. A large number of morphological, growth, and biomass parameters were measured, and various derived values (culm: root ratio, specific leaf area, etc.) were calculated, along with an index of phenotypic plasticity. Nitrogen addition significantly affected growth performance and biomass allocation traits of Spartina alterniflora, and culm density significantly affected morphological characteristics in a negative way, especially for Spartina alterniflora. However, there were no significant interactions between nitrogen levels and culm density on the morphological parameters, growth performances parameters, and biomass allocation parameters of the two species. Spartina alterniflora appears to respond more strongly to nitrogen than to culm density and this pattern of phenotypic plasticity appears to offer an expedition for successful invasion and displacement of Phramites australias in China. The implication of this study is that, in response to the environmental changes that are increasing nitrogen levels, the range of Spartina alterniflora is expected to continue to expand on the east coast of China.

Optimal foraging and phenotypic plasticity in plants

Do plants forage? The resources that plants consume come from various sources: water and nutrients from the soil, nitrogen and phosphorous from microbial symbionts, light from the solar radiation and, in the case of carnivorous plants, nutrients from animal prey. And, in the heterogeneous world in which plants live, phenotypic plasticity comes in handy: stems elongate in response to shade from neighbors and defenses are induced following herbivory. Recently, biologists have developed conceptual models and experiments that show the use, by plants, of phenotypic plasticity, and yes, even optimal foraging, in terms of ramet-level specialization, for maximal resource acquisition. In a new paper, Ellison and Gotelli [1xNitrogen availability alters the expression of carnivory in the northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. Ellison, A.M. and Gotelli, N.J. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2002; 99: 4409–4412Crossref | PubMed | Scopus (72)See all References][1] show a similar pattern for a carnivorous plant, extending our knowledge of phenotypic plasticity in plant-resource acquisition.The northern pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea inhabits open areas in bogs and fens; such nutrient-poor sites are thought to favor carnivory in plants. The high carbon:nitrogen (C:N) ratio of such sites is purported to allow for the investment of excess C in prey-capturing (i.e. N-capturing) organs. Over three years of field experiments, Ellison and Gotelli show that additions of N to natural plant populations in New England led to a reduction in prey-capturing pitchers (modified leaves) and an increase in phyllodia, or leaves that are specialized for C capture. Indeed, at increasing N levels, not only did the capacity for carnivory decrease, but the maximum photosynthesis rates also increased linearly. Results were consistent when nutrients were added to individual plants, whole plots, and when the authors surveyed the natural correlation between nitrate levels and indices of pitcher size across 26 bogs. The concordance of manipulative experiments with the observed geographical pattern is a satisfying indication that the environment is a key player in the distribution of phenotypic variation in resource acquisition.These results are similar to recent demonstrations of resource quality affecting the relative consumption of different trophic levels in omnivorous animals. But, other than the fantastic natural history, what is the real advance here? First, the strong influence of the biotic and abiotic environment on apparently adaptive phenotypes, even in organisms that appear to live in homogeneous environments, reinforces the view of economy in nature and the importance of phenotypic plasticity. Second, the results are consistent with Givnish et al.'s C–N-based hypothesis for the origin of botanical carnivory. Carnivorous plants are not only found primarily in sunny, moist and nutrient-poor sites, but carnivory is also reduced when these conditions are ameliorated. This phenotypic reallocation can occur within a single growing season, consistent with thinking of the plants as foragers. Finally, from the perspective of global change, Ellison and Gotelli propose that the pitcher:phyllode ratio could be a useful indicator of local rates of N deposition. This study therefore represents an important contribution linking theory, description and experiment, and potential application.

Mechanistic and Selective Causes of Life History Trade-Offs and Plasticity

We discuss the mechanistic (proximate) and selective (ultimate) factors that cause life history trade-offs such as the trade-off between offspring quality and quantity and that between current and future reproduction. We point out that key concepts in life history theory and evolutionary biology such as negative genetic correlations and trade-offs can be understood in terms of physiological mechanisms. More specifically, negative genetic correlations causing trade-offs between life history traits are caused by hormones and their regulatory genes that have multiple and opposing, pleiotropic effects on two or more traits. Consequently, investigations of these mechanisms is a natural complement to the classical population genetical approach. We critically dissect the argument, put forward by other workers, that experimental manipulations of organismal physiology or other phenotypic traits do not reveal genetic life history trade-offs, but only reflects phenotypic plasticity. We reject this idea and discuss the proposed alternative approach: laboratory selection experiments. We point out some problems associated with laboratory selection experiments and suggest that experimental manipulations of life history traits and secondary sexual characters in natural populations is an important and invaluable empirical method if one aims to get a better understanding of life history evolution in the wild. Finally, we discuss the proximate-ultimate dichotomy, the physiology of phylogenetic constraints, the role of physiological mechanisms in population differentiation in life history trade-offs and the importance of phenotypic plasticity in shaping such trade-offs. We suggest that life history plasticity in many cases may stem from the same endocrine mechanisms (gonadotropin, gonadal steroids, and adrenal glucocorticoids) as those involved in life history trade-offs. In particular, attempts to dichotomize life history trade-offs and life history plasticity may be unrealistic as the hormones governing both life history phenomena are likely to share key mechanisms in common.

Cheliped size and structure: the evolution of a multi-functional decapod organ

Past studies on the evolution of the structure of the decapod cheliped relied strongly on intraspecific allometric comparisons. This approach is probably inadequate in understanding the interplay of the various selection pressures shaping the evolution of such multi-functional organs as the decapod cheliped. A framework employing intersexual and interspecific allometric comparisons as well as manipulative experiments is proposed to allow a better understanding of the interaction and possibly, the relative importance of foraging, agonistic interactions, phenotypic variations and sexual selection in cheliped evolution. Comparative allometric data are presented for seven Charybdis and Portunus spp. from Hong Kong. The uncertainty about the role of intersexual niche partitioning in the evolution of sexual dimorphism, the lack of comprehensive fossil data on cheliped evolution and timing of the development of morphometric characteristics, and questions about the importance of phenotypic plasticity are identified as major problems met in the study of cheliped evolution.

Phenotypic plasticity in sun orientation of sandhoppers

Littoral sandhoppers perform zonal orientation mainly by means of sun orientation, which in Mediterranean populations was shown to be inborn, associated with a genetically determined directional tendency adapted to the shoreline of each population. In case of changes of the shoreline the genetic heterogeneity of populations and learning ability may cooperate in providing adaptation both at the population and at the individual level. This hypothesis has been tested carrying on studies on the ontogenesis of the reactionnorm of this behavioural trait inTalitrus saltator (Montagu) (Crustacea: Amphipoda) of a Tyrrhenian population which from previous results shows a well adapted seaward orientation. Sun orientation was analysed away from the sea shore, both in laboratory-raised individuals of different ages and in individuals captured in the field, by repeated releases on dry flat sand or in a glass bowl. Results showed variability within and between individuals of directional tendency, which varies in the individual life depending on age and experience. Particularly, age seems to bring canalization as variability within individuals tends to decrease with age. In order to evaluate the role of experience, we trained individuals to direct themselves towards a direction different from that genetically determined. The majority of the individuals showed a learning ability in the training situation. The importance of phenotypic plasticity in the oriented behaviour of sandhoppers is discussed.