Alternative splicing and gene expression play contrasting roles in the parallel phenotypic evolution of a salmonid fish. Issue 20 (18th February 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jacobs, Arne; Elmer, Kathryn R.
• Is Part Of: Molecular ecology. Volume 30:Issue 20(2021)
• Page Start: 4955
• Page End: 4969
• Publication Date: 2021-02-18
• Subjects: adaptive divergence -- alternative splicing -- convergent evolution -- ecological speciation -- gene expression -- parallel evolution -- salmonid; Molecular ecology -- Periodicals; Molecular population biology -- Periodicals; 576
• DOI: 10.1111/mec.15817
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0962-1083

Abstract

Abstract: Understanding the contribution of different molecular processes to evolution and development is crucial for identifying the mechanisms of adaptation. Here, we used RNA‐sequencing data to test the importance of alternative splicing and differential gene expression in a case of parallel adaptive evolution, the replicated postglacial divergence of the salmonid fish Arctic charr ( Salvelinus alpinus ) into sympatric benthic and pelagic ecotypes across multiple independent lakes. We found that genes differentially spliced between ecotypes were mostly not differentially expressed (<6% overlap) and were involved in different biological processes. Differentially spliced genes were primarily enriched for muscle development and functioning, while differentially expressed genes were involved in metabolism, immunity and growth. Furthermore, alternative splicing and gene expression were mostly controlled by independent cis ‐regulatory quantitative trait loci (<3.4% overlap). Cis ‐regulatory regions were associated with the parallel divergence in splicing (16.5% of intron clusters) and expression (6.7%–10.1% of differentially expressed genes), indicating shared regulatory variation across ecotype pairs. Contrary to theoretical expectation, we found that differentially spliced genes tended to be highly central in regulatory networks ("hub genes") and were annotated to significantly more gene ontology terms compared to nondifferentially spliced genes, consistent with a higher level of pleiotropy. Together, our results suggest that the concerted regulation of alternative splicing and differential gene expression through different regulatory regions leads to the divergence of complementary processes important for local adaptation. This provides novel insights into the importance of contrasting but putatively complementary molecular processes in rapid parallel adaptive evolution. Abstract : see also the Perspective by Sarah J. Salisbury, M. Lisette Delgado and Anne C. Dalziel.