Segregating Variation in the Polycomb Group Gene cramped Alters the Effect of Temperature on Multiple Traits

Segregating Variation in the Polycomb Group Gene cramped Alters the Effect of Temperature on Multiple Traits: "Author Summary

The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster was initially endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and started to colonize Europe and Asia around 10,000 years ago. Northern populations have adapted to these colder environments and differ from Sub-Saharan populations for temperature sensitive traits. Here we analyze cramped (crm), a gene previously identified as a putative target of adaptive selection during the colonization of northern latitudes. crm is involved in the regulation of chromosome structure, a process known to be strongly modulated by temperature. We show that crm is limiting for distinct processes at different temperatures and that crm natural variation modulates temperature sensitive phenotypes. Our results suggest that environmental heterogeneity maintains functional variation in environment sensitive gene networks and might facilitate evolution.

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