Ecological genomics in the Northern krill uncovers loci for local adaptation across ocean basins

Abstract

Krill is a vital food source for many marine animals but also strongly impacted by climate change. Genetic adaptation could support populations, but remains uncharacterized. We assembled the 19 Gb Northern krill genome and compared genome-scale variation among 74 specimens from the colder Atlantic Ocean and warmer Mediterranean Sea. The genome is dominated by methylated transposable elements and contains many duplicated genes implied in molting and vision. Analysis of 760 million SNPs indicates extensive homogenizing gene-flow among populations. Nevertheless, we detect extreme divergence across hundreds of genes, governing ecophysiological functions like photoreception, circadian regulation, reproduction and thermal tolerance. Such standing variation may be essential for resilience in zooplankton, necessitating insight into adaptive variation to forecast their roles in future marine ecosystems and support ocean conservation. One-Sentence SummaryGenome-scans of Northern krill link genes for photoreception, reproduction and thermal tolerance to ecological adaptation.