Data from: Environmental variation partitioned into separate heritable components

Trait variation is normally separated into genetic and environmental components, yet genetic factors also control the expression of environmental variation, encompassing plasticity across environmental gradients and within-environment responses. We defined four components of environmental variation: plasticity across environments, variability in plasticity, variation within environments, and differences in within-environment variation across environments. We assessed these components for cold tolerance across five rearing temperatures using the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP). The four components were found to be heritable, and genetically correlated to different extents. By whole genome single marker regression, we detected multiple candidate genes controlling the four components and showed limited overlap in genes affecting them. Using the binary UAS-GAL4 system, we functionally validated the effects of a subset of candidate genes affecting each of the four components of environmental variation and also confirmed the genetic and phenotypic correlations obtained from the DGRP in distinct genetic backgrounds. We delineate selection targets associated with environmental variation and the constraints acting upon them, providing a framework for evolutionary and applied studies on environmental sensitivity. Based on our results we suggest that the traditional quantitative genetic view of environmental variation and genotype-by-environment interactions needs revisiting.性状变异通常可划分为遗传组分与环境组分，但遗传因子亦可调控环境变异的表达，涵盖沿环境梯度的表型可塑性以及环境内的响应特征。本研究定义了环境变异的四个组分：跨环境的表型可塑性、可塑性自身的变异、环境内的性状变异，以及不同环境间环境内变异的差异。本研究利用黑腹果蝇遗传参考面板（Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel, DGRP），针对五种饲养温度下的耐寒性评估了上述四类环境变异组分。研究发现这四类组分均具有可遗传性，且彼此间存在不同程度的遗传相关性。通过全基因组单标记回归分析，本研究筛选出了调控这四类环境变异组分的多个候选基因，并发现调控不同组分的基因重叠度较低。本研究借助二元UAS-GAL4系统，对调控四类环境变异组分中部分候选基因的功能进行了验证，并在不同遗传背景下验证了由DGRP分析得到的遗传与表型相关性。本研究明确了与环境变异相关的选择靶点及其所受的约束，为环境敏感性的进化与应用研究提供了分析框架。基于上述研究结果，我们认为传统数量遗传学对于环境变异与基因型-环境互作的认知有待重新审视。