Abstract Robustness is the preservation of the phenotype in the face of genetic and environmental perturbations. It has been argued that robustness must be an essential fitness component of RNA viruses owed to their small and compacted genomes, high mutation rates and living in ever-changing environmental conditions. Given that genetic robustness might hamper possible beneficial mutations, it has been suggested that genetic robustness can only evolve as a side-effect of the evolution of robustness mechanisms specific to cope with environmental perturbations, a theory known as plastogenetic congruence. However, empirical evidences from different viral systems are contradictory. To test how adaptation to a particular environment affects both environmental and genetic robustness, we have used two strains of turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV) that differ in their degree of adaptation to Arabidopsis thaliana at a permissive temperature. We show that the highly adapted strain is strongly sensitive to the effect of random mutations and to changes in temperature conditions. In contrast, the non-adapted strain shows more robustness against both the accumulation of random mutations and drastic changes in temperature conditions. Together, these results are consistent with the predictions of the plastogenetic congruence theory, suggesting that genetic and environmental robustnesses may be two sides of the same coin for TuMV.

中文翻译：

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萝卜花叶病毒对特定生态位的适应性降低了其遗传和环境稳健性

摘要 稳健性是在面对遗传和环境扰动时保持表型。有人认为，由于 RNA 病毒的基因组小而紧凑，突变率高，并且生活在不断变化的环境条件中，因此鲁棒性必须是其重要的适应性组成部分。鉴于遗传稳健性可能会阻碍可能的有益突变，有人提出遗传稳健性只能作为特定于应对环境扰动的稳健性机制进化的副作用而进化，这种理论称为塑性遗传一致性。然而，来自不同病毒系统的经验证据是相互矛盾的。为了测试对特定环境的适应如何影响环境和遗传稳健性，我们使用了两种萝卜花叶病毒 (TuMV) 菌株，它们在允许的温度下对拟南芥的适应程度不同。我们表明高度适应的菌株对随机突变的影响和温度条件的变化非常敏感。相比之下，非适应菌株对随机突变的积累和温度条件的剧烈变化表现出更强的鲁棒性。总之，这些结果与塑性遗传一致性理论的预测一致，表明遗传和环境的稳健性可能是 TuMV 同一硬币的两个方面。我们表明高度适应的菌株对随机突变的影响和温度条件的变化非常敏感。相比之下，非适应菌株对随机突变的积累和温度条件的剧烈变化表现出更强的鲁棒性。总之，这些结果与塑性遗传一致性理论的预测一致，表明遗传和环境的稳健性可能是 TuMV 同一硬币的两个方面。我们表明高度适应的菌株对随机突变的影响和温度条件的变化非常敏感。相比之下，非适应菌株对随机突变的积累和温度条件的剧烈变化表现出更强的鲁棒性。总之，这些结果与塑性遗传一致性理论的预测一致，表明遗传和环境的稳健性可能是 TuMV 同一硬币的两个方面。