Data from: Environmentally induced changes in correlated responses to selection reveal variable pleiotropy across a complex genetic network

Selection in novel environments can lead to a coordinated evolutionary response across a suite of characters. Environmental conditions can also potentially induce changes in the genetic architecture of complex traits, which in turn could alter the pattern of the multivariate response to selection. We describe a factorial selection experiment using the nematode Caenorhabditis remanei in which two different stress-related phenotypes (heat and oxidative stress resistance) were selected under three different environmental conditions. The pattern of covariation in the evolutionary response between phenotypes or across environments differed depending on the environment in which selection occurred, including asymmetrical responses to selection in some cases. These results indicate that variation in pleiotropy across the stress response network is highly sensitive to the external environment. Our findings highlight the complexity of the interaction between genes and environment that influences the ability of organisms to acclimate to novel environments. They also make clear the need to identify the underlying genetic basis of genetic correlations in order understand how patterns of pleiotropy are distributed across complex genetic networks.

在全新环境中施加选择压力，可引发生物体一系列性状产生协同进化响应。环境条件还可能诱导复杂性状的遗传结构发生改变，进而改变选择作用下的多变量响应模式。本研究以雷氏隐杆线虫（Caenorhabditis remanei）为实验材料，开展析因选择实验：在三种不同环境条件下，针对两种应激相关表型——热应激抗性与氧化应激抗性——进行选择。不同表型间或不同环境下的进化响应协变模式会因选择发生的环境而异，部分实验中还出现了选择响应不对称的情况。上述结果表明，应激响应网络中的多效性（pleiotropy）变异对外界环境具有高度敏感性。本研究结果凸显了基因与环境互作的复杂性——这种互作会影响生物适应全新环境的能力，同时也明确了解析遗传相关潜在遗传基础的必要性，以阐明多效性模式在复杂遗传网络中的分布规律。