🧪 Read the preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
💻 Get the code: github.com/dodged13/LAM...

Study led by Ed Gilbert 👍@uniofhull.bsky.social @ucddublin.bsky.social #climatechange #climateadaptation #lizards #sciencebluesky #science #sciencbsky #herpetology

However, this adaptation came at a cost: a population crash evidenced by a steady decline in genetic diversity throughout the study period :(

In particular, we suspect that a system called Ahr::Arnt, which regulates gene activation in response to stress, has been shaped by natural selection, likely because it offered advantages in the hotter, drier conditions.

This heatwave occurred just as the lizard cohort we studied had hatched, demonstrating how quickly natural selection can act within a single generation.

We could tie a drastic shift in the genetic makeup of promoter sequences to a severe heatwave and drought in 2017 (the image shows increase in heat events on Tenerife based on data obtained by @AEMET_Esp as red bars).

Over time, lizards accumulated previously rare genetic variants while rapidly purging others.

We found that certain genes involved in water balance and energy use, such as aquaporins and the mitochondrial ETFA, play key roles in adapting to local climates, which range from hot and dry to cold and humid

We focused on specific parts of their DNA, called gene promoters, which control how genes are turned on or off, in a set of genes previously linked to climate adaptation in animals.

In this study, we examined how the Western-Canaries lizard, Gallotia galloti, adapted to different environments on Tenerife and how these adaptations evolved over the past nine years.

Climate change pushes animals to respond in various ways, but we still don’t fully understand whether and how their DNA changes to help them cope.