Nor climate nor human impact factors: Chytrid infection shapes the skin bacterial communities of an endemic amphibian in a biodiversity hotspot.

The bacterial communities of the amphibian skin (i.e., the bacteriome) are critical to the host's innate immune system. However, it is unclear how different drivers can alter this function by modulating the bacteriome's structure. Our aim was to assess the extent to which different host attributes and extrinsic factors influence the structure of the bacterial communities of the skin. Skin bacterial diversity was examined in 148 individuals of the four-eyed frog (Pleurodema thaul) from 16 localities spanning almost 1800 km in latitude. The richness and beta diversity of bacterial families and the richness and abundance of Bd-inhibitory bacterial genera were used to describe their structure. Predictors associated with the host (developmental stage, genetic lineage, individual Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis [Bd] infection status) and the landscape (current climate, degree of anthropogenic disturbance) were used in the statistical modeling in an information theoretical approach. Bd infection and host developmental stage were the only predictors affecting bacteriome richness, with Bd+ individuals and postmetamorphic stages (adults and juveniles) having higher richness than Bd- ones and tadpoles. High diversity in Bd+ individuals is not driven by bacterial genera with known anti-Bd properties. Beta diversity was not affected by Bd infection and was mainly a consequence of bacterial family turnover rather than nestedness. Finally, for those bacterial genera known to have inhibitory effects on chytrid, Bd+ individuals had a slightly higher diversity than Bd- ones. Our study confirms an association between Bd infection and the host developmental stage with the bacterial communities of the skin of P. thaul. Unexpectedly, macroclimate and human impact factors do not seem to play a role in shaping the amphibian skin microbiome. Our study exemplifies that focusing on a single host-parasite system over a large geographic scale can provide essential insights into the factors driving host-parasite-bacteriome interactions.

Evolutionary principles and genetic considerations for guiding conservation interventions under climate change.

Impacts of climate change are apparent in natural systems around the world. Many species are and will continue to struggle to persist in their current location as their preferred environment changes. Traditional conservation efforts aiming to prevent local extinctions have focused on two aspects that theoretically enhance genetic diversity-population connectivity and population size-through 'passive interventions' (such as protected areas and connectivity corridors). However, the exceptionally rapid loss of biodiversity that we are experiencing as result of anthropogenic climate change has shifted conservation approaches to more 'active interventions' (such as rewilding, assisted gene flow, assisted evolution, artificial selection, genetic engineering). We integrate genetic/genomic approaches into an evolutionary biology framework in order to discuss with scientists, conservation managers and decision makers about the opportunities and risks of interventions that need careful consideration in order to avoid unwanted evolutionary outcomes.

Transcriptional profiles of early stage red sea urchins (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) reveal differential regulation of gene expression across development.

The red sea urchin, Mesocentrotus franciscanus, is an ecologically important kelp forest species that also serves as a valuable fisheries resource. In this study, we have assembled and annotated a developmental transcriptome for M. franciscanus that represents eggs and six stages of early development (8- to 16-cell, morula, hatched blastula, early gastrula, prism and early pluteus). Characterization of the transcriptome revealed distinct patterns of gene expression that corresponded to major developmental and morphological processes. In addition, the period during which maternally-controlled transcription was terminated and the zygotic genome was activated, the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT), was found to begin during early cleavage and persist through the hatched blastula stage, an observation that is similar to the timing of the MZT in other sea urchin species. The presented developmental transcriptome will serve as a useful resource for investigating, in both an ecological and fisheries context, how the early developmental stages of this species respond to environmental stressors.

Beyond buying time: the role of plasticity in phenotypic adaptation to rapid environmental change.

How populations and species respond to modified environmental conditions is critical to their persistence both now and into the future, particularly given the increasing pace of environmental change. The process of adaptation to novel environmental conditions can occur via two mechanisms: (1) the expression of phenotypic plasticity (the ability of one genotype to express varying phenotypes when exposed to different environmental conditions), and (2) evolution via selection for particular phenotypes, resulting in the modification of genetic variation in the population. Plasticity, because it acts at the level of the individual, is often hailed as a rapid-response mechanism that will enable organisms to adapt and survive in our rapidly changing world. But plasticity can also retard adaptation by shifting the distribution of phenotypes in the population, shielding it from natural selection. In addition to which, not all plastic responses are adaptive-now well-documented in cases of ecological traps. In this theme issue, we aim to present a considered view of plasticity and the role it could play in facilitating or hindering adaption to environmental change. This introduction provides a re-examination of our current understanding of the role of phenotypic plasticity in adaptation and sets the theme issue's contributions in their broader context. Four key themes emerge: the need to measure plasticity across both space and time; the importance of the past in predicting the future; the importance of the link between plasticity and sexual selection; and the need to understand more about the nature of selection on plasticity itself. We conclude by advocating the need for cross-disciplinary collaborations to settle the question of whether plasticity will promote or retard species' rates of adaptation to ever-more stressful environmental conditions. This article is part of the theme issue 'The role of plasticity in phenotypic adaptation to rapid environmental change'.

Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Nacella limpets reveal novel evolutionary characteristics of mitochondrial genomes in Patellogastropoda.

Mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) provide valuable phylogenetic information and genome-level characters that are useful in resolving evolutionary relationships within major lineages of gastropods. However, for more than one decade, these relationships and the phylogenetic position of Patellogastropoda have been inferred based on the genomic architecture as well as the nucleotide and protein sequences of a single representative, the limpet Lottia digitalis. This mitogenome exhibits extensive rearrangements and several repetitive units that may not represent universal features for Patellogastropoda. Here, we sequenced the complete mitogenomes of three Nacella limpets, providing new insights into the dynamics of gene order and phylogenetic relationships of Patellogastropoda. Comparative analyses revealed novel gene rearrangements in Gastropoda, characterised by two main translocations that affect the KARNI and the MYCWQ clusters in Nacella limpets. Our phylogenetic reconstructions using combined sequence datasets of 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes and two rRNAs, recovered Patellogastropoda, and Gastropoda in general, as non-monophyletic. These findings could be related to the long-branch attraction tendency of these groups, and/or taxon sampling bias. In our novel mitogenome-based phylogenetic hypothesis, L. digitalis is placed in a sister position to Bivalvia and Heterobranchia, whereas Nacella limpets are placed sister to a clade containing Caenogastropoda + Neritimorpha and Vetigastropoda + Neomphalina.

Natural selection on plasticity of thermal traits in a highly seasonal environment.

For ectothermic species with broad geographical distributions, latitudinal/altitudinal variation in environmental temperatures (averages and extremes) is expected to shape the evolution of physiological tolerances and the acclimation capacity (i.e., degree of phenotypic plasticity) of natural populations. This can create geographical gradients of selection in which environments with greater thermal variability (e.g., seasonality) tend to favor individuals that maximize performance across a broader range of temperatures compared to more stable environments. Although thermal acclimation capacity plays a fundamental role in this context, it is unknown whether natural selection targets this trait in natural populations. Additionally, understanding whether and how selection acts on thermal physiological plasticity is also highly relevant to climate change and biological conservation. Here, we addressed such an important gap in our knowledge in the northernmost population of the four-eyed frog, Pleurodema thaul. We measured plastic responses of critical thermal limits for activity, behavioral thermal preference, and thermal sensitivity of metabolism to acclimation at 10 and 20°C. We monitored survival during three separate recapture efforts and used mark-recapture integrated into an information-theoretic approach to evaluate the relationship between survivals as a function of the plasticity of thermal traits. Overall, we found no evidence that thermal acclimation in this population is being targeted by directional selection, although there might be signals of selection on individual traits. According to the most supported models, survival increased in individuals with higher tolerance to cold when cold-acclimated, probably because daily low extremes are frequent during the cooler periods of the year. Furthermore, survival increased with body size. However, in both cases, the directional selection estimates were nonsignificant, and the constraints of our experimental design prevented us from evaluating more complex models (i.e., nonlinear selection).

A phylogenetic analysis of macroevolutionary patterns in fermentative yeasts.

When novel sources of ecological opportunity are available, physiological innovations can trigger adaptive radiations. This could be the case of yeasts (Saccharomycotina), in which an evolutionary novelty is represented by the capacity to exploit simple sugars from fruits (fermentation). During adaptive radiations, diversification and morphological evolution are predicted to slow-down after early bursts of diversification. Here, we performed the first comparative phylogenetic analysis in yeasts, testing the "early burst" prediction on species diversification and also on traits of putative ecological relevance (cell-size and fermentation versatility). We found that speciation rates are constant during the time-range we considered (ca., 150 millions of years). Phylogenetic signal of both traits was significant (but lower for cell-size), suggesting that lineages resemble each other in trait-values. Disparity analysis suggested accelerated evolution (diversification in trait values above Brownian Motion expectations) in cell-size. We also found a significant phylogenetic regression between cell-size and fermentation versatility (R (2) = 0.10), which suggests correlated evolution between both traits. Overall, our results do not support the early burst prediction both in species and traits, but suggest a number of interesting evolutionary patterns, that warrant further exploration. For instance, we show that the Whole Genomic Duplication that affected a whole clade of yeasts, does not seems to have a statistically detectable phenotypic effect at our level of analysis. In this regard, further studies of fermentation under common-garden conditions combined with comparative analyses are warranted.

Phylogenetic analysis of the complete mitogenome sequence of the raspberry weevil, Aegorhinus superciliosus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), supports monophyly of the tribe Aterpini.

The superfamily Curculionoidea is one of the most diverse groups of insects in the world, including many species which are crop pests. Within this group, the native raspberry weevil, Aegorhinus superciliosus (Guérin, 1830), is an important pest in blueberry and raspberry fields in southern South America. Using a 454 sequencing approach, we sequenced and annotated the mitogenome of A. superciliosus, it, providing the first such information for any species in the tribe Aterpini, subfamily Cyclominae. The assembled mitogenome is a circular DNA molecule 15,121bp in length containing all 37 genes normally found in metazoans. Mitogenome organization and transcriptional orientation in A. superciliosus showed the same pattern that characterizes the suborder Polyphaga. Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analyses supported the monophyly of the tribe Aterpini and the subfamily Cyclominae, recovering this clade in a sister group relationship with Entiminae and Hyperinae. The monophyly of these three subfamilies defines a critical transition to an ectophagous lifestyle in the larvae, from an ancestrally endophagous larval lifestyle in all other lineages. The sequenced mitogenome of A. superciliosus can provide basic data for future studies investigating population history, molecular systematics, stress ecophysiology and phylogeography.

Impact of global warming at the range margins: phenotypic plasticity and behavioral thermoregulation will buffer an endemic amphibian.

When dispersal is not an option to evade warming temperatures, compensation through behavior, plasticity, or evolutionary adaptation is essential to prevent extinction. In this work, we evaluated whether there is physiological plasticity in the thermal performance curve (TPC) of maximum jumping speed in individuals acclimated to current and projected temperatures and whether there is an opportunity for behavioral thermoregulation in the desert landscape where inhabits the northernmost population of the endemic frog Pleurodema thaul. Our results indicate that individuals acclimated to 20°C and 25°C increased the breath of their TPCs by shifting their upper limits with respect to when they were acclimated at 10°C. In addition, even when dispersal is not possible for this population, the landscape is heterogeneous enough to offer opportunities for behavioral thermoregulation. In particular, under current climatic conditions, behavioral thermoregulation is not compulsory as available operative temperatures are encompassed within the population TPC limits. However, for severe projected temperatures under climate change, behavioral thermoregulation will be required in the sunny patches. In overall, our results suggest that this population of Pleurodema thaul will be able to endure the worst projected scenario of climate warming as it has not only the physiological capacities but also the environmental opportunities to regulate its body temperature behaviorally.