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. 2016 Oct 12;6(22):7991-7996.
doi: 10.1002/ece3.2534. eCollection 2016 Nov.

Flies evolved small bodies and cells at high or fluctuating temperatures

Gregory J Adrian  1 , Marcin Czarnoleski  2 , Michael J Angilletta Jr  1
Affiliations

Flies evolved small bodies and cells at high or fluctuating temperatures

Gregory J Adrian et al. Ecol Evol. .

Abstract

Recent theory predicts that the sizes of cells will evolve according to fluctuations in body temperature. Smaller cells speed metabolism during periods of warming but require more energy to maintain and repair. To evaluate this theory, we studied the evolution of cell size in populations of Drosophila melanogaster held at either a constant temperature (16°C or 25°C) or fluctuating temperatures (16 and 25°C). Populations that evolved at fluctuating temperatures or a constant 25°C developed smaller thoraxes, wings, and cells than did flies exposed to a constant 16°C. The cells of flies from fluctuating environments were intermediate in size to those of flies from constant environments. Most genetic variation in cell size was independent of variation in wing size, suggesting that cell size was a target of selection. These evolutionary patterns accord with patterns of developmental plasticity documented previously. Future studies should focus on the mechanisms that underlie the selective advantage of small cells at high or fluctuating temperatures.

Keywords: Drosophila; body size; cell size; experimental evolution; fluctuations; selection; temperature.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Landmarks on each wing were used to estimate wing size. The mean area of cells was estimated from the density of trichomes in a circular section of the wing (0.01 mm2).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flies that developed in cold constant (blue symbols) environments developed larger thorax sizes and larger wings than flies raised in both warm constant environments (red symbols) and fluctuating environments (green symbols). For thorax size, females (circles) were more impacted than were males (squares) across the thermal treatments. Large, solid symbols denote the means estimated by multimodel averaging
Figure 3
Figure 3
Flies that developed in a constant cold environment (blue symbols) had larger cells than flies developing in constant hot environments (red symbols). Flies that developed in fluctuating environments (green symbols) had cells intermediate in size. Large, solid symbols denote the means estimated by multimodel averaging
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