Received: 13 June 2017 | Revised: 30 May 2018 | Accepted: 31 May 2018 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14778 ORIGINAL ARTICLE An association between differential expression and genetic divergence in the Patagonian olive mouse (Abrothrix olivacea) Facundo M. Giorello1,2 | Matias Feijoo1 | Guillermo D'Elía3 | Daniel E. Naya1 | Lourdes Valdez3 | Juan C. Opazo3 | Enrique P. Lessa1 1Departamento de Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la Abstract República, Montevideo, Uruguay Recent molecular studies have found striking differences between desert‐adapted 2Espacio de Biología Vegetal del Noreste, species and model mammals regarding water conservation. In particular, aquaporin Centro Universitario de Tacuarembó, Universidad de la República, Tacuarembó, 4, a classical gene involved in water regulation of model species, is absent or not Uruguay expressed in the kidneys of desert‐adapted species. To further understand the 3Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, molecular response to water availability, we studied the Patagonian olive mouse Valdivia, Chile Abrothrix olivacea, a species with an unusually broad ecological tolerance that exhi- Correspondence bits a great urine concentration capability. The species is able to occupy both the Facundo M. Giorello, Departamento de arid Patagonian steppe and the Valdivian and Magellanic forests. We sampled 95 Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá 4225, olive mouse specimens from four localities (two in the steppe and two in the for- Montevideo 11400, Uruguay. ests) and analysed both phenotypic variables and transcriptomic data to investigate Email:
[email protected] the response of this species to the contrasting environmental conditions. The rela- Funding information tive size of the kidney and the ratio of urine to plasma concentrations were, as Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico, Grant/Award Number: expected, negatively correlated with annual rainfall.