Studying the rapid evolutionary ability of water fleas to adapt to the environment for 20 years

In the past 20 years, the genetic sequencing of Daphnia populations has proved the extraordinary ability of animals to rapidly evolve to deal with predators

In a new study published in Nature Communications, scientists from the University of Birmingham in the UK, the University of Leuven in Belgium and the Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin found more than 300 water fleas.

These genes account for about 3% of all sequenced Daphnia genes, and they support changes in behavior and life history characteristics that improve survival in the face of predators

Strikingly, the evolution of predation pressures took place within only a few generations

Lead researcher Dr.

Daphnia are the center of the food web of lakes and ponds

In this study, the research team was able to hatch dormant eggs that span 20 years and sequence the genomes of 36 resurrected Daphnia in a fish pond

The research team found that in the regional collection of Daphnia populations, it does not need more than 5 "founding" Daphnia individuals to initiate an evolutionary change throughout the entire population

This surprising result shows that animal species like Daphnia have a strong ability to adapt and evolve, thanks to the fact that genetic variation is maintained at the landscape level-an important lesson in conservation biology

Lead researcher Dr.

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Extensive standing genetic variation from a small number of founders enables rapid adaptation in Daphnia