Seasonal Adaptation: Geographic Photoperiod–Temperature Patterns Explain Genetic Variation in the Common Vole Tsh Receptor

• Published in: Genes
• Main Authors: Laura van Rosmalen, Robin Schepers, Wensi Hao, Anna S. Przybylska-Piech, Jeremy S. Herman, Joanna Stojak, Jan M. Wójcik, Louis van de Zande, Jeremy B. Searle, Roelof A. Hut
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023
• Subjects: seasonal reproduction; Tsh receptor; temperature–photoperiod ellipsoid; natural selection; Microtus arvalis; common vole; climate change; Common vole
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14020292

The vertebrate photoperiodic neuroendocrine system uses the photoperiod as a proxy to time the annual rhythms in reproduction. The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) is a key protein in the mammalian seasonal reproduction pathway. Its abundance and function can tune sensitivity to the photoperiod. To investigate seasonal adaptation in mammals, the hinge region and the first part of the transmembrane domain of the Tshr gene were sequenced for 278 common vole (Microtus arvalis) specimens from 15 localities in Western Europe and 28 localities in Eastern Europe. Forty-nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; twenty-two intronic and twenty-seven exonic) were found, with a weak or lack of correlation with pairwise geographical distance, latitude, longitude, and altitude. By applying a temperature threshold to the local photoperiod–temperature ellipsoid, we obtained a predicted critical photoperiod (pCPP) as a proxy for the spring onset of local primary food production (grass). The obtained pCPP explains the distribution of the genetic variation in Tshr in Western Europe through highly significant correlations with five intronic and seven exonic SNPs. The relationship between pCPP and SNPs was lacking in Eastern Europe. Thus, Tshr, which plays a pivotal role in the sensitivity of the mammalian photoperiodic neuroendocrine system, was targeted by natural selection in Western European vole populations, resulting in the optimized timing of seasonal reproduction.