Data from: Phenotypic responses to temperature in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila

Understanding the effects of temperature on ecological and evolutionary
processes is crucial for generating future climate adaptation scenarios.
Using experimental evolution, we evolved the model ciliate Tetrahymena
thermophila in an initially novel high temperature environment for more
than 35 generations, closely monitoring population dynamics and
morphological changes. We observed initially long lag phases in the high
temperature environment that over about 26 generations reduced to no lag
phase, a strong reduction in cell size and modifications in cell shape at
high temperature. When exposing the adapted populations to their original
temperature, most phenotypic traits returned to the observed levels in the
ancestral populations, indicating phenotypic plasticity is an important
component of this species thermal stress response. However, persistent
changes in cell size were detected, indicating possible costs related to
the adaptation process. Exploring the molecular basis of thermal
adaptation will help clarify the mechanisms driving these phenotypic
responses.