Lafuente Elvira, Alves Filipa, King Jessica G, Peralta Carolina M, Beldade Patrícia
Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência Oeiras Portugal.
Present address: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Department of Aquatic Ecology Dübendorf Switzerland.
Ecol Evol. 2021 May 25;11(12):8136-8155. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7646. eCollection 2021 Jun.
Body pigmentation is an evolutionarily diversified and ecologically relevant trait with substantial variation within and between species, and important roles in animal survival and reproduction. Insect pigmentation, in particular, provides some of the most compelling examples of adaptive evolution, including its ecological significance and genetic bases. Pigmentation includes multiple aspects of color and color pattern that may vary more or less independently, and can be under different selective pressures. We decompose thorax and abdominal pigmentation, a valuable eco-evo-devo model, into distinct measurable traits related to color and color pattern. We investigate intra- and interspecific variation for those traits and assess its different sources. For each body part, we measured overall darkness, as well as four other pigmentation properties distinguishing between background color and color of the darker pattern elements that decorate each body part. By focusing on two standard laboratory populations, we show that pigmentation components vary and covary in distinct manners depending on sex, genetic background, and temperature during development. Studying three natural populations of along a latitudinal cline and five other species, we then show that evolution of lighter or darker bodies can be achieved by changing distinct component traits. Our results paint a much more complex picture of body pigmentation variation than previous studies could uncover, including patterns of sexual dimorphism, thermal plasticity, and interspecific diversity. These findings underscore the value of detailed quantitative phenotyping and analysis of different sources of variation for a better understanding of phenotypic variation and diversification, and the ecological pressures and genetic mechanisms underlying them.
身体色素沉着是一种在进化上具有多样性且与生态相关的性状，在物种内部和物种之间存在大量变异，并且在动物的生存和繁殖中发挥着重要作用。特别是昆虫色素沉着，提供了一些适应性进化的最引人注目的例子，包括其生态意义和遗传基础。色素沉着包括颜色和颜色模式的多个方面，这些方面可能或多或少独立变化，并且可能受到不同的选择压力。我们将胸部和腹部色素沉着（一种有价值的生态 - 进化 - 发育模型）分解为与颜色和颜色模式相关的不同可测量性状。我们研究这些性状的种内和种间变异，并评估其不同来源。对于每个身体部位，我们测量了整体暗度，以及区分每个身体部位背景颜色和较深图案元素颜色的其他四个色素沉着特性。通过关注两个标准实验室种群，我们表明色素沉着成分根据性别、遗传背景和发育期间的温度以不同方式变化和协变。然后，通过研究沿着纬度梯度的三个自然种群以及其他五个物种，我们表明可以通过改变不同的组成性状来实现身体颜色变浅或变深的进化。我们的结果描绘了一幅比以往研究所能揭示的更为复杂的身体色素沉着变异图景，包括性二态性、热可塑性和种间多样性模式。这些发现强调了详细定量表型分析以及对不同变异来源进行分析对于更好地理解表型变异和多样化以及其背后的生态压力和遗传机制的价值。
