Data from: Mild warming induces divergent plastic responses in gene expression among populations of a temperate butterfly

In response to potentially stressful conditions, for example, due to
climate change, organisms can move, adjust through phenotypic plasticity,
and evolve. Evolution can act on mean trait values, but also on plasticity
itself. We performed a common garden experiment with two populations of
Glanville fritillary butterflies originating from different latitudes in
Europe, each tested at two temperature treatments. We investigated gene
expression patterns using differential expression analysis as well as
weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to disentangle
genetic from plastic effects. We found that, regardless of population of
origin, most differentially expressed genes were responsive to
temperature. We also found strong evidence for variation in plasticity
between populations (GxE), but no clear evidence for genetic assimilation
or compensation. Patterns for gene co-expression modules were more
complex, indicating the importance of considering coordinated, low-level
changes across many genes. Biological processes overrepresented in
differentially expressed genes and gene co-expression modules are
generally related to cellular maintenance and growth. Our results
highlight the importance of intraspecific differences in phenotypic
plasticity in response to mild warming.