Olvera-Vazquez S.G., Alhmedi A., Miñarro M., Shykoff J. A., Marchadier E., Rousselet A., Remoué C., Gardet R., Degrave A. , Robert P. , Chen X., Porcher J., Giraud T., Vander-Mijnsbrugge K., Raffoux X., Falque M., Alins, G., Didelot F., Beliën T., Dapena E., Lemarquand A. and Cornille A.Please use the format "First name initials family name" as in "Marie S. Curie, Niels H. D. Bohr, Albert Einstein, John R. R. Tolkien, Donna T. Strickland"
<p style="text-align: justify;">Understanding the extent of local adaptation in natural populations and the mechanisms enabling populations to adapt to their environment is a major avenue in ecology research. Host-parasite interaction is widely seen as a major driver of local adaptation and has therefore been a study model to dissect the evolutionary processes at work during local adaptation. However, to date, the relative contributions of species interactions (i.e., biotic factor) and abiotic factors to local adaptation are still unclear. Addressing these issues is more than a simple academic exercise. Understanding local adaptation processes in host-parasite interactions will also help to tackle pressing issues, such as the ways in which environmental changes alter the emergence of pathogens leading to host extinction, how to promote sustainability of agroecosystems in the face of emerging crop diseases, or in guiding public health practices as more human pathogens and their vectors expand their ranges. Here, we propose to investigate whether local adaptation occurred during the recent rapid colonization of cultivated apple (Malus domestica) by Dysaphis plantaginea, the major aphid pest of cultivated apple orchards in Europe. We will experimentally test whether different populations, from Belgium, France, and Spain, of the aphid D. plantaginea show fitness differences in three common garden orchards located in Belgium, France, and Spain, comprised each of a panel of wild and cultivated apple genotypes from Belgium, France, and Spain, as well as previously reported tolerant and susceptible apple genotypes. This experiment will start in the Spring of 2021 and will generate original results adding to our understanding of how the biotic (the host) and abiotic conditions can shape local adaptation in a parasite.</p>
local adaptation, aphid, fruit trees, common garden, G*G*E interaction, host-parasite interaction, domestication.
