Multiple chromosomal inversions modulate continuous local adaptation along a steep thermal cline
Abstract
Chromosomal inversions are often implicated in divergence between distinct ecotypes, but their role in maintaining continuous adaptive divergence in complex traits remains poorly understood. Using quantitative and population genetics, transcriptomics, and artificial selection experiments, we demonstrate how inversions enable clinal adaptive divergence along a steep environmental gradient despite extensive gene flow in a widely distributed marine fish. We show that three inversions are associated with multiple adaptive traits and harbor the strongest signatures of divergent selection in the genome, implying a crucial adaptive role. These inversions exhibit contrasting selection signatures across latitudes, suggesting that they control distinct aspects of the same complex traits and facilitate adaptation in a modular way to different environmental pressures despite gene flow.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Genetic diversity and population structure
Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Science
- Publisher
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- Volume
- 391
- Issue
- 6789
- Pages
- 1015–1021
- Publication date
- 5 March 2026
- Language
- EN