First evidence of a genetic basis for thermal adaptation in a schistosome host snail

Freshwater snails play a key role in the transmission of schistosomiasis, a tropical parasitic disease affecting over 150 million people. Adaptation of these snails to local climatic conditions is a critical factor in determining how climate change and other environmental factors influence disease transmission dynamics, yet this potential adaptation has remained unexplored. Bulinus truncatus is the schistosome intermediate host snail with the widest geographic distribution and is therefore an important factor determining the maximum range of urogenital schistosomiasis. In this study, we assessed the local adaptation capacity of B. truncatus to temperature through an integrative approach encompassing phenotypic, ecophysiological, and genomic data. Ten snail populations from diverse thermal environments were collected in three countries, with eight populations reared in a common garden. The F2 generation (N= 2,304) was exposed to eight chronic temperature treatments (± 36 snails/populatio..., All data were obtained through an extensive common garden experiment in which second generation snails from different origins were subjected to different temperature treatments. Life-history parameters such as growth, fecundity and survival were measured during 14 weeks. After the experiment, a subset of snails were analysed physiologically. The DNA from the parental generation snails coming from the field was extracted and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified using a genotyping by sequencing approach.
Field Collection and experimental design
Bulinus truncatus snails were collected in the second half of 2021 from ten localities in three countries (France, Senegal and Zimbabwe) spanning a latitudinal and temperature gradient. About 100 snails were collected per locality. Additionally, a French (Corsican) strain that has been maintained in the lab since 2014 was included. Each locality was screened for B. truncatus and snails were collected from every habitat where they ..., , # Data from: First evidence of a genetic basis for thermal adaptation in a schistosome host snail

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v8v](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v8v)

Data from Maes, T.; Verheyen, J.; Senghor, B., Mudavanhu, A., Schols, R., Hellemans, B., Geslain, E., Volckaert, F.A.M., Gante, H.F., & Huyse, T. (2025). First evidence of a genetic basis for thermal adaptation in a schistosome host snail, *Ecological Monographs.*

## Description of the data and file structure

All data were obtained through an extensive common garden experiment in which second generation snails from different origins were subjected to different temperature treatments. Life-history parameters such as growth, fecundity and survival were measured during 14 weeks. After the experiment, a subset of snails were analysed physiologically. The DNA from the parental generation snails coming from the field was extracted and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified using a genotyping...