Phenotypic plasticity evolves at multiple biological levels in response to environmental predictability in a long-term experiment with a halotolerant microalga

Phenotypic plasticity, the change in the phenotype of a given genotype in response to its environment of development, is a ubiquitous feature of life, enabling organisms to cope with variation in their environment. Theoretical studies predict that, under stationary environmental variation, the level of plasticity should evolve to match the predictability of selection at the timing of development. However, the extent to which patterns of evolution of plasticity for more integrated traits are mirrored by their underlying molecular mechanisms remains unclear, especially in response to well-characterized selective pressures exerted by environmental predictability. Here, we used experimental evolution with the microalgae Dunaliella salina under controlled environmental fluctuations, to test whether the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in responses to environmental predictability (as measured by the squared autocorrelation ρ(2)) occurred across biological levels, going from DNA methylation to gene expression to cell morphology. Transcriptomic analysis indicates clear effects of salinity and ρ(2) × salinity interaction on gene expression, thus identifying sets of genes involved in plasticity and its evolution. These transcriptomic effects were independent of DNA methylation changes in cis. However, we did find ρ(2)-specific responses of DNA methylation to salinity change, albeit weaker than for gene expression. Overall, we found consistent evolution of reduced plasticity in less predictable environments for DNA methylation, gene expression, and cell morphology. Our results provide the first clear empirical signature of plasticity evolution at multiple levels in response to environmental predictability, and highlight the importance of experimental evolution to address predictions from evolutionary theory, as well as investigate the molecular basis of plasticity evolution.