Multiple chromosomal inversions modulate continuous local adaptation along a steep thermal cline
Summary
Chromosomal inversions are often implicated in divergence between distinct ecotypes, but their role in maintaining continuous adaptive divergence in complex traits remains poorly understood. Using quantitative and population genetics, transcriptomics, and artificial selection experiments, we demonstrate how inversions enable clinal adaptive divergence along a steep environmental gradient despite extensive gene flow in a widely distributed marine fish. We show that three inversions are asso
Content
# Multiple chromosomal inversions modulate continuous local adaptation along a steep thermal cline
*Published: 2026 Mar 5*
Chromosomal inversions are often implicated in divergence between distinct
ecotypes, but their role in maintaining continuous adaptive divergence in
complex traits remains poorly understood. Using quantitative and population
genetics, transcriptomics, and artificial selection experiments, we demonstrate
how inversions enable clinal adaptive divergence along a steep environmental
gradient despite extensive gene flow in a widely distributed marine fish. We
show that three inversions are associated with multiple adaptive traits and
harbor the strongest signatures of divergent selection in the genome, implying a
crucial adaptive role. These inversions exhibit contrasting selection signatures
across latitudes, suggesting that they control distinct aspects of the same
complex traits and facilitate adaptation in a modular way to different
environmental pressures despite gene flow.
DOI: 10.1126/science.ady6774