Genetic Architecture of Micro-Environmental Plasticity in Drosophila melanogaster.
Individuals of the same genotype do not have the same phenotype for quantitative traits when reared under common macro-environmental conditions, a phenomenon called micro-environmental plasticity. Genetic variation in micro-environmental plasticity is assumed in models of the evolution of phenotypic variance, and is important in applied breeding and personalized medicine. Here, we quantified genetic variation for micro-environmental plasticity for three quantitative traits in the inbred, sequenced lines of the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel. We found substantial genetic variation for micro-environmental plasticity for all traits, with broad sense heritabilities of the same magnitude or greater than those of trait means. Micro-environmental plasticity is not correlated with residual segregating variation, is trait-specific, and has genetic correlations with trait means ranging from zero to near unity. We identified several candidate genes associated with micro-environmental plasticity of startle response, including Drosophila Hsp90, setting the stage for future genetic dissection of this phenomenon.
1] Department of Biological Sciences and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology [2] Program in Genetics.
Fabio
F
Morgante
Center of Quantitative Genetics and Genomics and Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Tjele 8830, Denmark.
Peter
P
Sørensen
Center of Quantitative Genetics and Genomics and Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Tjele 8830, Denmark.
Daniel A
DA
Sorensen
1] Program in Genetics [2] Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC 27695-7614 USA.
Christian
C
Maltecca
1] Department of Biological Sciences and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology [2] Program in Genetics.
Trudy F C
TF
Mackay
D000064:Acclimatization / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D000066670:Cell Plasticity / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D017753:Ecosystem; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D056084:Genetic Fitness / Q000235:genetics; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins