Journal
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
Volume 57, Issue 2, Pages 385-395Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx082
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [GRFP 1144244, IOS-1637160]
- Company of Biologists [EA1233]
- Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology division DAB
- Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology division DCB
- Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology division DEC
- Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology division DEDE
- Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology division DEE
- Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology division DNB
- Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology division DVM
- USF Tharp Summer Endowment Scholarship
- National Science Foundation-Integrative Organismal Systems [0920475, 1257773]
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems [GRANTS:13989040, 0920475, 1257773] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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During range expansions, organisms are often exposed to multiple pressures, including novel enemies (i.e., predators, competitors and/or parasites) and unfamiliar or limited resources. Additionally, small propagule sizes at range edges can result in genetic founder effects and bottlenecks, which can affect phenotypic diversity and thus selection. Despite these obstacles, individuals in expanding populations often thrive at the periphery of a range, and this success may be mediated by phenotypic plasticity. Increasing evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms may underlie such plasticity because they allow for more rapid phenotypic responses to novel environments than are possible via the accumulation of genetic variation. Here, we review how molecular epigenetic mechanisms could facilitate plasticity in range-expanding organisms, emphasizing the roles of DNA methylation and other epigenetic marks in the physiological regulatory networks that drive whole-organism performance. We focus on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, arguing that epigenetically-mediated plasticity in the regulation of glucocorticoids in particular might strongly impact range expansions. We hypothesize that novel environments release and/or select for epigenetic potential in HPA variation and hence organismal performance and ultimately fitness.
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