Skip to main content
2023 ESA Annual Meeting Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back

Contributed Talk

Session: : Predation And Predator-Prey Interactions 2

COS 181-5 - Three phenotypes from one genotype: Variable gene expression results in predator-induced phenotypic plasticity in a Neotropical tadpole

Wednesday, August 9, 2023
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM PDT
Location: E144
Abstract: Phenotypic plasticity is a nearly ubiquitous phenomenon in nature. Organisms often show adaptive and non-adaptive changes in behavior, life-history, and morphology in response to environmental variation. Amazingly, these changes stem from an organism’s single genotype. Hourglass treefrog (Dendropsophus ebraccatus) tadpoles exhibit predator-induced plasticity in coloration, morphology, and behavior. When raised in the presence of dragonfly larvae, they develop bold red/black tails and deeper tail fins, and when reared with fish, tadpoles develop shallow, clear tails. Phenotypic plasticity improves survival with the inducing-predator, but reduces survival with the wrong predator, demonstrating the ecological importance of flexible phenotypes for prey animals. For the past several years, we have been exploring the genetic basis of these flexible phenotypes. Transcriptome sequencing at two points during development has identified nearly 300 differentially expressed genes. A more focused exploration of several genes of interest have helped to identify when gene expression first occurs, how quickly genes get turned on, and if genes are differentially expressed in different tissues in the body. Collectively, these results demonstrate the wide-ranging effects of environmental stress on organismal development.