First evidence that the genome can adapt to temperature changes

Researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona are the first to have studied the effects of a heatwave on the genetic make-up of a species. The researchers have been monitoring the evolution of the fly Drosophila subobscura for 37 years, and they have observed that the European heatwave of spring 2011 caused dramatic alterations in the genetic make-up of its populations, due to a rapid proliferation of genotypes that were more tolerant of high temperatures.

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