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Genetic basis for rapidly evolved tolerance in the wild: adaptation to toxic pollutants by an estuarine fish species
Author(s) -
Nacci Diane,
Proestou Dina,
Champlin Denise,
Martinson John,
Waits Eric R.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/mec.13848
Subject(s) - fundulus , killifish , biology , quantitative trait locus , aryl hydrocarbon receptor , genetic architecture , ecology , local adaptation , context (archaeology) , evolutionary biology , population , genetics , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , gene , demography , sociology , transcription factor , paleontology
Atlantic killifish ( Fundulus heteroclitus ) residing in some urban and industrialized estuaries of the US eastern seaboard demonstrate recently evolved and extreme tolerance to toxic aryl hydrocarbon pollutants, characterized as dioxin‐like compounds ( DLC s). Here, we provide an unusually comprehensive accounting (69%) through quantitative trait locus ( QTL ) analysis of the genetic basis for DLC tolerance in killifish inhabiting an urban estuary contaminated with PCB congeners, the most toxic of which are DLC s. Consistent with mechanistic knowledge of DLC toxicity in fish and other vertebrates, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor ( ahr2 ) region accounts for 17% of trait variation; however, QTL on independent linkage groups and their interactions have even greater explanatory power (44%). QTL interpreted within the context of recently available Fundulus genomic resources and shared synteny among fish species suggest adaptation via interacting components of a complex stress response network. Some QTL were also enriched in other killifish populations characterized as DLC ‐tolerant and residing in distant urban estuaries contaminated with unique mixtures of pollutants. Together, our results suggest that DLC tolerance in killifish represents an emerging example of parallel contemporary evolution that has been driven by intense human‐mediated selection on natural populations.