The evolution of environmental responses

Organisms are subject to environmental conditions that vary over time and space. To gain maximum fitness in the face of this variability, they need to adapt their phenotypes in such a way as to express the optimal trait at any given time. Smaller and shorter-term fluctuations are often accommodated by phenotypic plasticity, where phenotypes are modified temporarily or permanently in response to environmental cues. Plastic responses are often not available for larger and longer-lasting perturbations of the environment, in which case populations adapt via permanent genetic change.

Whether and to what extent individuals and populations can deal to changes in the environmental conditions depends to a large degree on whether plastic responses are available and/or the amount of suitable genetic variation. Both of these are intimately linked to the genetic architecture of traits that are relevant under the conditions, i.e. the genetic variance of and covariation between traits expressed by different genotypes within and between environments. Plasticity will uncouple traits across conditions while the opposite, genetic correlations, can accelerate or hinder adaptation in variable environments.

This project will study the evolution of genetic architectures and their implication for evolution in variable environments. It will use fission yeast as a powerful model, giving us access to a range of experimental approaches and a life cycle fast enough to study evolution in the lab.