DNA methylation site loss for plasticity-led novel trait genetic fixation - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #phenotypic plasticity
- #DNA methylation
- #genetic assimilation
- Phenotypic plasticity enables adaptation to environmental changes, but how plastic traits become genetically fixed is not fully understood.
- The study focused on gut-length plasticity in medaka fish, using methylation profiling, CRISPR/Cas9 deletion, and population genomic analyses.
- Seasonal methylation of CpG sites near Plxnb3 correlates with gut-length plasticity, and deleting this region eliminates plasticity.
- Standing variation in Ppp3r1 is linked to genetically fixed longer gut length in populations without plasticity.
- The findings suggest loss of epigenetic regulation via CpG site reduction triggers genetic fixation of novel traits.
- This research provides molecular evidence connecting epigenetic plasticity and genetic assimilation in natural populations.