Experimental population genomics of local climate adaptation in Chironomus riparius

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Thomas Hankeln; Dr. Carsten Nowak; Professor Dr. Markus Pfenninger
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions ; Evolution, Anthropology
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 240537071

Local adaptation to varying environmental conditions is a key process for the evolution of biodiversity. Ambient temperature is a crucially important factor for ectothermic organisms, because it determines the rate of metabolic processes and thus all processes from development to reproduction. This suggests that populations of a species should adapt to prevailing local temperatures. However, little is known about the genomic basis of local metabolic temperature adaptation, particularly in non-model organisms. In this project, we strive to unveil the genomic basis of observed local adaptation in an ecologically important species, the non-biting midge (Chironomus riparius Meigen 1804) to a temperature gradient across Europe. To this end, we combine ecological experiments, genome scans and repeated experimental evolution in an innovative fashion.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants