Data from: Adaptive dynamics of cuticular hydrocarbons in Drosophila

Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are hydrophobic compounds deposited on the arthropod cuticle that are of functional significance with respect to stress tolerance, social interactions, and mating dynamics. We characterized CHC profiles in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster at five levels: across a latitudinal transect in the eastern U.S., as a function of developmental temperature during culture, across seasonal time in replicate years, and as a function of rapid evolution in experimental mesocosms in the field. Furthermore, we also characterized spatial and temporal change in allele frequencies for SNPs in genes that are associated with the production and chemical profile of CHCs. Our data demonstrate a striking degree of parallelism for clinal and seasonal variation in CHCs in this taxon; CHC profiles also demonstrate significant plasticity in response to rearing temperature, and the observed patterns of plasticity parallel the spatiotemporal patterns observed in nature. We find that these congruent shifts in CHC profiles across time and space are also mirrored by predictable shifts in allele frequencies at SNPs associated with CHC chain length. Finally, we observed rapid and predictable evolution of CHC profiles in experimental mesocosms in the field. Together, these data strongly suggest that CHC profiles respond rapidly and adaptively to environmental parameters that covary with latitude and season, and that this response reflects the process of local adaptation in natural populations of D. melanogaster.表皮碳氢化合物（Cuticular hydrocarbons, CHCs）是沉积于节肢动物体表角质层的疏水化合物，在胁迫耐受、社会互动以及交配动态等方面具有关键的功能意义。本研究针对黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）的自然种群，从五个维度对其CHC谱型开展了系统表征：涵盖美国东部的纬度样带梯度、培养过程中发育温度的影响效应、复现年份下的季节性时间变化，以及野外实验中型生态缸中的快速演化规律。此外，本研究还对与CHC合成及化学谱型相关的基因内单核苷酸多态性（Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, SNPs）的等位基因频率时空变化特征进行了分析。研究数据显示，该类群CHC谱型的渐变群变异与季节性变异呈现出高度显著的平行性；CHC谱型对饲养温度亦表现出显著的表型可塑性，且所观测到的可塑性模式与自然环境中的时空变化模式高度一致。本研究发现，CHC谱型在时空维度上的协同变化，同样伴随着与CHC链长相关的SNPs等位基因频率的可预测性改变。最后，本研究在野外实验中型生态缸中观测到了CHC谱型快速且可预测的演化过程。综合上述研究数据，本研究有力表明：CHC谱型可快速且适应性地响应与纬度及季节协同变化的环境参数，且该响应过程正是黑腹果蝇自然种群本地适应的具体体现。