Phenotypic, Physiological, and Genetic Patterns of TTX Resistance in the Sierra Garter Snake Thamnophis Couchii
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University of Nevada, Reno Evolution of an Adaptive Trait: Phenotypic, Physiological, and Genetic Patterns of TTX Resistance in the Sierra Garter Snake Thamnophis couchii A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology by Jessica Summer Reimche Dr. Chris Feldman/Dissertation Advisor Dr. Karen Schlauch/Dissertation Advisor December 2020 Copyright © by Jessica Summer Reimche 2020 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE SCHOOL We recommend that the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Jessica Summer Reimche entitled Evolution of an Adaptive Trait: Phenotypic, Physiological, and Genetic Patterns of TTX Resistance in the Sierra Garter Snake Thamnophis couchii be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chris R. Feldman, Ph.D., Advisor Karen Schlauch, Ph.D., Co-advisor Thomas L. Parchman, Ph.D., Committee Member Julie M. Allen Ph.D., Committee Member Normand Leblanc, Ph.D., Graduate School Representative David W. Zeh, Ph.D., Dean, Graduate School December 2020 i ABSTRACT Understanding the molecular evolution of adaptive traits is central to advancing evolutionary biology. Thus, describing the genetic architecture of such traits is necessary to understand how adaptations arise, spread, and fix across populations. Where exactly these adaptive traits originate in the underlying genetic architecture remains a topic of controversy, with some evolutionary biologists arguing that origination of adaptive phenotypes occurs from changes in regulatory non-protein coding regions of the genome, while others claim they stem from structural mutations in protein coding regions. Complex phenotypes such as adaptations are inherently difficult to study, typically involving multiple, potentially independent, genetic mechanisms that can be challenging to recognize. Therefore, the best approach to understanding these complex phenotypes is a layered approach, examining the connection between genotypes and phenotype at many levels. Here, we examine the complex phenotype, tetrodotoxin (TTX) resistance, at multiple scales (whole animal, physiological, and genetic), hoping to uncover both structural and regulatory changes responsible for this adaptation. TTX resistance is an adaptive trait found in garter snakes (Thamnophis) that prey on toxic newts (Taricha spp.). Newts are defended by this lethal toxin (TTX) which binds to sodium channels, halts nerve impulses, and can end in death for those who ingest it. Nevertheless, some garter snake species have evolved resistance to TTX, and prey on these newts. We examined an unstudied predator-prey interaction between toxic newts and a recently discovered TTX-resistant predator, the Sierra garter snake (Th. couchii). We quantified phenotypic variation at the whole animal scale in both predator ii (resistance) and prey (toxicity), identifying strong trait matching at sympatric sites, and high levels of phenotypic variation in predator TTX resistance both within and among populations. We then investigated whether this variation in predator traits is explained by the same physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying predator resistance in other Thamnophis-Taricha systems. We confirmed that there is indeed a correlation between whole animal and skeletal muscle resistance and then sequenced three candidate genes and found that all individuals across the range of Th. couchii are fixed for resistance- conferring alleles despite phenotypic variation at both the whole animal and skeletal muscle levels. In the absence of structural variation in the sodium channel targets of TTX, we investigated a potential avenue for TTX resistance from a transcriptomics perspective, exploring the role of gene expression in adaptive evolution. We found over 200 differentially expressed genes among low and high resistance snakes. This body of work examines the connections between genetic mechanisms and phenotype to better understand adaptive evolution and the potential molecular constraints that act upon it. iii DEDICATION To all who have doubted themselves- don’t give up, we can do hard things it has been one of the greatest and most difficult years of my life. i learned everything is temporary. moments. feelings. people. flowers. i learned love is about giving everything. and letting it hurt. i learned vulnerability is always the right choice because it is easy to be cold in a world that makes it so very difficult to remain soft. i learned all things come in twos. life and death. pain and joy. salt and sugar. me and you. it is the balance of the universe. it has been the year of hurting so bad but living so good. making friends out of strangers. making strangers out of friends. learning mint chocolate chip ice cream will fix just about everything. and for the pains it can’t there will always be my mother’s arms. we must learn to focus on warm energy. always. soak our limbs in it and become better lovers to the world. for if we can’t learn to be kind to each other how will we ever learn to be kind to the most desperate parts of ourselves. -Rupi Kaur iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to Dr. Chris Feldman for welcoming me into this incredible system. He has granted me endless patience and helped develop an excitement and enthusiasm for science that I did not know before. I am honored to contribute to the amazing research that he and other collaborators have been conducting for almost twenty years. Thank you to Dr. Karen Schlauch for her never ending support of me and my graduate career. Her mentorship is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I’m not sure she knows how important it was to hear the words “you can do this” from someone I admire so much. I am eternally grateful. I owe much of this dissertation to the brilliant Robert del Carlo and Haley Moniz. For believing in me when I could not believe in myself, picking me up when I fell, and literally chopping off snake heads when I was emotionally taxed, they have held my hand through this entire journey. They have been role models since the moment I met them. Thank you for being examples of what it means to set high standards and continually strive for excellent science. I cannot wait to see where their careers lead them and support them however I can along the way. I’m so appreciative of my committee for all of their guidance and support. I am lucky to have a wonderfully diverse and impressive group of scientists who welcomed all of my questions, offered critical feedback, and ended our conversations with “what can I do to help?” Thank you to Dr. Norm Leblanc, Dr. Tom Parchman, and Dr. Julie Allen, I am so grateful for their role in this dissertation. I would like to sincerely thank the Evol Doers Lab Group for their mentorship, feedback, and inspiration throughout these five years. Thank you for enriching my graduate student career. Thank you to the EECB and Biology Departments, and the UNR Graduate School. My education would not be possible without the financial and emotional support of their programs. Thank you for being advocates for graduate students and fighting to relieve the financial burden of higher education. Thank you for providing incredible courses that broadened my knowledge, challenged my abilities, and reminded me to never stop asking questions. I would like to thank all of the funding agencies that supported this research: UNR Graduate Student Association, Nevada INBRE, Gans Collection and Charitable Fund, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Herpetologists League, and National Science Foundation. I am indebted to my lab mates and a number of researchers that were vital to the completion of my dissertation. Thank you to Joshua Hallas, Erica Ely, Arielle Navarro, Kelly Robinson, Kenzie Wasley, Amber Durfree, Taylor Disbrow, Gabrielle Blaustein v for all of their help in the lab. Thank you to the Matocq Lab, Ferguson lab, Miura lab, and Singer lab for loaning equipment and offering assistance. Special thank you Vicki Thill for paving the way with her inspiring research. It is an honor to work along a biologist like her. Thanks to my fellow graduate students for all of their camaraderie. I would like to specifically thank my roommate Devon Picklum for being a constant light in this frequently dark process. A special thank you to Angela Pitera, Nadya Muchoney, Anne Espeset, Anna Tataro, Jen Rippet, Chase Fiore, Sam Mann, and Levi Evans for their physical and emotional support throughout this process. To my CrossFit community, who helped prepare me for this process more than I ever realized, thank you. For helping me build literal strength and confidence in myself, pushing me to do things I never thought possible, and preparing me for the discomfort and endurance of hard work and self-growth- they have changed my life in unimaginable ways. Finally, thank you to my family, who never once let me believe I couldn’t do anything I put my mind to. To my father, who instilled in me a love for science so deep that it has carried me around the world, doing things I never thought possible. To my mother, who sacrificed so much to give me the entire world. And to my sister, who is the brightest light in my life. Thank you. With them on my team, this accomplishment was truly possible. Their unconditional love is the greatest gift. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................... i Dedication