ArticleMolecular ecology2021
Rapid evolutionary changes in gene expression in response to climate fluctuations.
Article in Molecular ecology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Two decades of resurrection studies: What have we learned about contemporary evolution of plant species?American journal of botany · 2026Pooled it
- Biomarkers in headaches as a potential solution to simplify differential diagnosis of primary headache disorders: a systematic review.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Pooled it
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- Evidence of Intraspecific Adaptive Variation in the American Pika (Ochotona princeps) on a Continental Scale Using a Target Enrichment and Mitochondrial Genome Skimming Approach.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Measuring natural selection on the transcriptome.The New phytologist · 2025Review
- Selection on genome-wide gene expression plasticity of rice in wet and dry field environments.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Gravitropic Gene Expression Divergence Associated With Adaptation to Contrasting Environments in an Australian Wildflower.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Evolutionary history and seascape genomics of Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) across environmental gradients in the North Atlantic and adjacent waters.Molecular ecology resources · 2025Article
- Embracing plant plasticity or robustness as a means of ensuring food security.Nature communications · 2025Review
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- The role of heterochronic gene expression and regulatory architecture in early developmental divergence.eLife · 2024Article
- Robust Phylogenetic Regression.Systematic biology · 2024Article
- The quantitative genetics of gene expression in Mimulus guttatus.PLoS genetics · 2024Article
- Genomics for monitoring and understanding species responses to global climate change.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2024Review
- Genomic insights into selection for heterozygous alleles and woody traits in Populus tomentosa.Plant biotechnology journal · 2023Article
- Phenotypic plasticity and genetic diversity shed light on endemism of rareEcology and evolution · 2023Article
- Genetic diversity and gene expression diversity shape the adaptive pattern of the aquatic plant Batrachium bungei along an altitudinal gradient on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.Plant molecular biology · 2023Article
- Genomic insights into the evolutionary history and diversification of bulb traits in garlic.Genome biology · 2022Article
- Environmental factors have a major effect in shaping the gene expression of Siberian larch in the Altai Mountains of China.The plant genome · 2022Article
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is now abundant evidence of rapid evolution in natural populations, but the genetic mechanisms of these changes remain unclear. One possible route to rapid evolution is through changes in the expression of genes that influence traits under selection. We examined contemporary evolutionary gene expression changes in plant populations responding to environmental fluctuations. We compared genome-wide gene expression, using RNA-seq, in two populations of Brassica rapa collected over four time points between 1997 and 2014, during which precipitation in southern California fluctuated dramatically and phenotypic and genotypic changes occurred. By combining transcriptome profiling with the resurrection approach, we directly examined evolutionary changes in gene expression over time. For both populations, we found a substantial number of differentially expressed genes between generations, indicating rapid evolution in the expression of many genes. Using existing gene annotations, we found that many changes occurred in genes involved in regulating stress responses and flowering time. These appeared related to the fluctuations in precipitation and were potentially adaptive. However, the evolutionary changes in gene expression differed across generations within and between populations, indicating largely independent evolutionary trajectories across populations and over time. Our study provides strong evidence for rapid evolution in gene expression, and indicates that changes in gene expression can be one mechanism of rapid evolutionary responses to selection episodes. This study also illustrates that combining resurrection studies with transcriptomics is a powerful approach for investigating evolutionary changes at the gene regulatory level, and will provide new insights into the genetic basis of contemporary evolution.
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