Open AccessTransgenerational plasticity and the capacity to adapt to low salinity in the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica
Author(s) -
Joanna S. Griffiths,
Kevin M. Johnson,
Kyle A. Sirovy,
Mark S Yeats,
Tianle Pan,
Jérôme F. La Peyre,
Morgan W. Kelly
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings - royal society. biological sciences/proceedings - royal society. biological sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.342
H-Index - 253
eISSN - 1471-2954
pISSN - 0962-8452
DOI - 10.1098/rspb.2020.3118
Subject(s) - salinity , oyster , crassostrea , eastern oyster , biology , genetic variation , local adaptation , heritability , phenotypic plasticity , maternal effect , ecology , adaptation (eye) , fishery , offspring , population , evolutionary biology , pregnancy , biochemistry , genetics , demography , sociology , gene , neuroscience
Salinity conditions in oyster breeding grounds in the Gulf of Mexico are expected to drastically change due to increased precipitation from climate change and anthropogenic changes to local hydrology. We determined the capacity of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica , to adapt via standing genetic variation or acclimate through transgenerational plasticity (TGP). We outplanted oysters to either a low- or medium-salinity site in Louisiana for 2 years. We then crossed adult parents using a North Carolina II breeding design, and measured body size and survival of larvae 5 dpf raised under low or ambient salinity. We found that TGP is unlikely to significantly contribute to low-salinity tolerance since we did not observe increased growth or survival in offspring reared in low salinity when their parents were also acclimated at a low-salinity site. However, we detected genetic variation for body size, with an estimated heritability of 0.68 ± 0.25 (95% CI). This suggests there is ample genetic variation for this trait to evolve, and that evolutionary adaptation is a possible mechanism through which oysters will persist with future declines in salinity. The results of this experiment provide valuable insights into successfully breeding low-salinity tolerance in this commercially important species.