Genetic regulators of a resource polyphenism interact to couple predatory morphology and behaviour

Phenotypic plasticity often requires the coordinated response of multiple traits observed individually as morphological, physiological or behavioural. The integration, and hence functionality, of this response may be influenced by whether and how these component traits share a genetic basis. In the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 291; no. 2024; p. 20240153
Main Authors:	Nicholson, Rose M, Levis, Nicholas A, Ragsdale, Erik J
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England 01-06-2024
Subjects:	Animals Gene Regulatory Networks Phenotype Predatory Behavior resource polyphenism predation phenotypic plasticity trait integration Pristionchus pacificus
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Summary:	Phenotypic plasticity often requires the coordinated response of multiple traits observed individually as morphological, physiological or behavioural. The integration, and hence functionality, of this response may be influenced by whether and how these component traits share a genetic basis. In the case of polyphenism, or discrete plasticity, at least part of the environmental response is categorical, offering a simple readout for determining whether and to what degree individual components of a plastic response can be decoupled. Here, we use the nematode , which has a resource polyphenism allowing it to be a facultative predator of other nematodes, to understand the genetic integration of polyphenism. The behavioural and morphological consequences of perturbations to the polyphenism's genetic regulatory network show that both predatory activity and ability are strongly influenced by morphology, different axes of morphological variation are associated with different aspects of predatory behaviour, and rearing environment can decouple predatory morphology from behaviour. Further, we found that interactions between some polyphenism-modifying genes synergistically affect predatory behaviour. Our results show that the component traits of an integrated polyphenic response can be decoupled and, in principle, selected upon individually, and they suggest that multiple routes to functionally comparable phenotypes are possible.
ISSN:	1471-2954
DOI:	10.1098/rspb.2024.0153