Data from: Plastic and evolutionary gene expression responses are correlated in European grayling (Thymallus thymallus) sub-populations adapted to different thermal environments

Understanding how populations adapt to changing environmental conditions is a long-standing theme in evolutionary biology. Gene expression changes have been recognized as an important driver of local adaptation, but relatively little is known regarding the direction of change and in particular, about the interplay between plastic and evolutionary gene expression. We have previously shown that the gene expression profiles of European grayling (Thymallus thymallus) populations inhabiting different thermal environments include both plastic and evolutionary components. However whether the plastic and evolutionary responses were in the same direction was not investigated in detail, nor was the identity of the specific genes involved. In this study, we show that the plastic changes in protein expression in response to different temperatures are highly correlated with the evolutionary response in grayling sub-populations adapted to different thermal environments. This finding provides preliminary evidence that the plastic response most likely facilitates adaptation during the early phases of colonization of thermal environments. The proteins that showed highly significant changes in expression level between warm and cold temperature treatments were mostly related to muscle development, which is consistent with earlier findings demonstrating muscle mass differentiation between cold and warm grayling populations.

解析种群如何适应多变环境条件，是进化生物学领域经久不衰的研究主题。基因表达变化已被证实是本地适应的重要驱动因素，但学界对其变化方向，尤其是可塑性与进化性基因表达之间的互作关系，仍知之甚少。我们此前的研究表明，栖息于不同热环境的欧洲茴鱼（*Thymallus thymallus*）种群，其基因表达谱同时包含可塑性组分与进化性组分。然而，此前并未深入探究可塑性响应与进化性响应的方向是否一致，也未明确所涉及的特定基因的具体身份。本研究证实，针对不同温度的蛋白质表达可塑性变化，与适应不同热环境的茴鱼亚种群所产生的进化性响应高度相关。这一发现为可塑性响应极有可能在热环境定殖的早期阶段促进适应提供了初步证据。在高温与低温处理组间，表达水平发生极显著变化的蛋白质大多与肌肉发育相关，这与此前研究发现的冷、热环境茴鱼种群间肌肉质量分化的结果一致。