Data from: Predation drives local adaptation of phenotypic plasticity

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an individual genotype to alter aspects of its phenotype depending on the current environment. It is central to the persistence, resistance and resilience of populations facing variation in physical or biological factors. Genetic variation in plasticity is pervasive, which suggests its local adaptation is plausible. Existing studies on the adaptation of plasticity typically focus on single traits and a few populations, while theory about interactions among genes (for example, pleiotropy) suggests that a multi-trait, landscape scale (for example, multiple populations) perspective is required. We present data from a landscape scale, replicated, multi-trait experiment using a classic predator–prey system centred on the water flea Daphnia pulex. We find predator regime-driven differences in genetic variation of multivariate plasticity. These differences are associated with strong divergent selection linked to a predation regime. Our findings are evidence for local adaptation of plasticity, suggesting that responses of populations to environmental variation depend on the conditions in which they evolved in the past.

表型可塑性（phenotypic plasticity）指单个基因型可依据当前环境调整其表型特征的能力。它是种群应对物理或生物因子变化时，维系存续、提升抗性与恢复力的核心机制。可塑性的遗传变异普遍存在，这提示其局部适应具备可行性。现有针对可塑性适应性的研究多聚焦于单性状与少数种群，而有关基因间互作（例如多效性（pleiotropy））的理论则表明，需采用多性状、景观尺度（例如多个种群）的研究视角。本研究呈现了一项基于景观尺度、重复设计的多性状实验数据，该实验以蚤状溞（Daphnia pulex）为核心构建经典捕食者-猎物系统。研究发现，捕食环境驱动了多性状可塑性的遗传变异差异；这类差异与关联捕食环境的强趋异选择密切相关。本研究结果为可塑性的局部适应提供了直接证据，表明种群对环境变化的响应取决于其过往演化所处的环境条件。