A single-nucleotide change underlies the genetic assimilation of a plastic trait
Paul Vigne, Clotilde Gimond, Céline Ferrari, Anne Vielle, Johan Hallin, Ania Pino-Querido, Sonia El Mouridi, Laure Mignerot, Christian Frøkjær‐Jensen, Thomas Boulin, Henrique Teotónio, Christian Braendle
Abstract
populations harboring genetic variants expressing a derived state of near-constitutive matricidal hatching. These variants exhibit a single amino acid change (V530L) in KCNL-1, a small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel subunit. This gain-of-function mutation causes matricidal hatching by strongly reducing the sensitivity to environmental stimuli triggering egg-laying. We show that reestablishing the canonical KCNL-1 protein in matricidal isolates is sufficient to restore canonical egg-laying. While highly deleterious in constant food environments, KCNL-1 V530L is maintained under fluctuating resource availability. A single point mutation can therefore underlie the genetic assimilation-by either genetic drift or selection-of an ancestrally plastic trait.