Terminology

Micro-Evolutionary Priming

"Multigenerational exposure to low stress levels can drive mutation-based genetic adaptations leading to tolerance to higher stress levels."¹

"Even in the absence of mutation micro-evolutionary priming may nevertheless be expected if directional selection by low-stress levels increases the prevalence of alleles that contribute to coping with much higher levels of stress."¹

Research Articles

Adapting to an increasingly stressful environment: Experimental evidence for 'micro-evolutionary priming' Han et al. 2025 Research Article

This is a transgenerational study.

"We exposed randomly selected subsets of genotypes (clones) of each of these populations to low, intermediate and high copper levels and assessed their population growth performance across multiple generations."

"The adaptation observed in our study most likely occurred mainly through directional selection on favourable allele combinations formed after each bout of sexual reproduction."

• "For this reason, the observed divergence in fitness response between these populations can be more easily explained as the consequence of micro- evolutionary adaptation than by epigenetics-mediated transgenerational hormetic responses."

"Few studies specifically address how adaptation to very low-stress levels may enhance tolerance of animal populations to future acute stress events."

"By allowing naïve populations to adapt to low-stress levels, low-stress sites may serve as stepping stones between stress-free and high-stress sites."

"Evaluating the extent to which organisms can increase their coping abilities to acute stress by micro-evolutionary adaptation to relatively low- stress levels is important for assessing the potential response of (meta)populations, communities and associated ecosystem functions in a rapidly changing world."