Open AccessA chromosomal inversion may facilitate adaptation despite periodic gene flow in a freshwater fish
Author(s) -
Thorstensen Matt J.,
Euclide Peter T.,
Jeffrey Jennifer D.,
Shi Yue,
Treberg Jason R.,
Watkinson Douglas A.,
Enders Eva C.,
Larson Wesley A.,
Kobayashi Yasuhiro,
Jeffries Ken M.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.8898
Subject(s) - gene flow , local adaptation , adaptation (eye) , biology , ecology , freshwater fish , inversion (geology) , evolutionary biology , geography , gene , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , genetic variation , genetics , paleontology , population , demography , structural basin , neuroscience , sociology
Differences in genomic architecture between populations, such as chromosomal inversions, may play an important role in facilitating adaptation despite opportunities for gene flow. One system where chromosomal inversions may be important for eco‐evolutionary dynamics is in freshwater fishes, which often live in heterogenous environments characterized by varying levels of connectivity and varying opportunities for gene flow. In the present study, reduced representation sequencing was used to study possible adaptation in n = 345 walleye ( Sander vitreus ) from three North American waterbodies: Cedar Bluff Reservoir (Kansas, USA), Lake Manitoba (Manitoba, Canada), and Lake Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada). Haplotype and outlier‐based tests revealed a putative chromosomal inversion that contained three expressed genes and was nearly fixed in walleye assigned to Lake Winnipeg. These patterns exist despite the potential for high gene flow between these proximate Canadian lakes, suggesting that the inversion may be important for facilitating adaptive divergence between the two lakes despite gene flow. However, a specific adaptive role for the putative inversion could not be tested with the present data. Our study illuminates the importance of genomic architecture consistent with local adaptation in freshwater fishes. Furthermore, our results provide additional evidence that inversions may facilitate local adaptation in many organisms that inhabit connected but heterogenous environments.