Multi-factor control of seed mass of species on the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: Integration of environmental filters, local adaptation and correlated evolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 187 ◽  
pp. 104471
Author(s):  
Xiaomei Kang ◽  
Jieyang Zhou ◽  
Abuman ◽  
Guozhen Du ◽  
Wei Qi
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Environmental Filters ◽  
Correlated Evolution

scholarly journals Influence of environmental factors on the genetic variation of the aquatic macrophyte Ranunculus subrigidus on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhigang Wu ◽  
Xinwei Xu ◽  
Juan Zhang ◽  
Gerhard Wiegleb ◽  
Hongwei Hou
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Aquatic Macrophyte ◽  
Spatial Genetic Structure ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Mantel Tests ◽  
Genetic Patterns

Abstract Background Due to the environmental heterogeneity along elevation gradients, alpine ecosystems are ideal study objects for investigating how ecological variables shape the genetic patterns of natural species. The highest region in the world, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, is a hotspot for the studies of evolutionary processes in plants. Many large rivers spring from the plateau, providing abundant habitats for aquatic and amphibious organisms. In the present study, we examined the genetic diversity of 13 Ranunculus subrigidus populations distributed throughout the plateau in order to elucidate the relative contribution of geographic distance and environmental dissimilarity to the spatial genetic pattern. Results A relatively low level of genetic diversity within populations was found. No spatial genetic structure was suggested by the analyses of molecular variance, Bayesian clustering analysis and Mantel tests. Partial Mantel tests and multiple matrix regression analysis showed a significant influence of the environment on the genetic divergence of the species. Both climatic and water quality variables contribute to the habitat heterogeneity of R. subrigidus populations. Conclusions Our results suggest that historical processes involving long-distance dispersal and local adaptation may account for the genetic patterns of R. subrigidus and current environmental factors play an important role in the genetic differentiation and local adaptation of aquatic plants in alpine landscapes.

How regional climate and seed traits interact in shaping stress–tolerance of savanna seeds?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Leandro C. Ribeiro ◽  
Eduardo R. M. Barbosa ◽  
Fabian Borghetti
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Seed Traits ◽  
Environmental Filters ◽  
Regional Environment ◽  
Germination Time

Abstract Functional traits related to regeneration responses to the environment are highly determinants of distribution patterns of plant communities. A large body of studies on seed traits suggests that regional climate may act as a strong filter of plant recruitment; however, few studies have evaluated the relative importance of seed traits and environmental filters for seed persistence at the population level. We tested the role of seed mass, water content and desiccation tolerance, as well as the germination time as proxies for seed tolerance to environmental filters (water deficit, heat shock and high temperatures) by comparing the response of tree species co-occurring in savannas located in different regions: Cerrado biome of Central Brazil and the Rio Branco savannas of northern Brazil. Seeds collected in savannas of Rio Branco showed a higher tolerance to environmental filters than those collected in savannas of the Cerrado. While the germination percentages largely varied in response to the treatments, the germination times were virtually unaffected by them, irrespective of seed origin, seed mass and water content. At the population level, the regional environment was a key determinant of seed tolerance to stress, irrespective of seed traits. Germination time was shown to represent a conservative seed trait and more linked to a species-specific germination strategy than to regional characteristics. Our results suggest that recruitment patterns of Cerrado savannas may be more impacted than Rio Branco savannas by the climate scenarios predicted for the future.

Recovery and germinability of seeds ingested by yaks and Tibetan sheep could have important effects on the population dynamics of alpine meadow plants on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojun Yu ◽  
Changlin Xu ◽  
Fang Wang ◽  
Zhanhuan Shang ◽  
Ruijun Long
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Passage Time ◽  
Total Recovery ◽  
Tibetan Sheep ◽  
Seed Width ◽  
Meadow Species

Seed dispersal by livestock in lowland rangelands has received attention from researchers in recent decades while there has been little research into the dispersal of alpine meadow plants’ seed after ingestion by yaks and Tibetan sheep. This study assessed the recovery and germination of seeds by feeding known quantities of seeds from 20 alpine meadow species to yaks and Tibetan sheep. Seeds from 18 out of 20 of the plant species fed to Tibetan sheep survived ingestion and defecation. All of the species fed to the yaks survived. The recovery rate of undamaged seed ranged from 0.4 to 58.4% for yaks and 0.0 to 28.1% for Tibetan sheep. In general, total recovery of ingested seeds from yaks (28.1%) was significantly higher than that from the sheep (9.4%). Passage time of seeds through the digestive tract ranged from 12 to 96 h for yaks and from 12 to 84 h for Tibetan sheep. Seed recovery was negatively related to seed length (yak, r = –0.59; Tibetan sheep, r = –0.52) but was not related to seed width, seed thickness and seed mass. Seeds defecated by yaks and Tibetan sheep were found to have a range of germination rates which were both higher and lower compared with undigested seed depending on the plant species. It is argued that ingestion of seed by grazing yak or Tibetan sheep may have important effects on the population dynamics of alpine plant species of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

scholarly journals Convergent, Parallel and Correlated Evolution of Trophic Morphologies in the Subfamily Schizothoracinae from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. e34070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delin Qi ◽  
Yan Chao ◽  
Songchang Guo ◽  
Lanying Zhao ◽  
Taiping Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Correlated Evolution

scholarly journals Local adaptation of Gymnocypris przewalskii (Cyprinidae) on the Tibetan Plateau

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renyi Zhang ◽  
Arne Ludwig ◽  
Cunfang Zhang ◽  
Chao Tong ◽  
Guogang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Gymnocypris Przewalskii

scholarly journals Correlated evolution of genome size and seed mass

2006 ◽  
Vol 173 (2) ◽  
pp. 422-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy M. Beaulieu ◽  
Angela T. Moles ◽  
Ilia J. Leitch ◽  
Michael D. Bennett ◽  
John B. Dickie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Size ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Correlated Evolution

scholarly journals The ecology and quantitative genetics of seed and seedling traits in upland and lowland ecotypes of a perennial grass

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samsad Razzaque ◽  
Tom Juenger
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Seed Size ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Directional Selection ◽  
Seedling Vigor ◽  
Seed Traits ◽  
Ecotypic Differentiation ◽  
Seed Trait

Plants have evolved diverse reproductive allocation strategies and seed traits to aid in dispersal, persistence in the seed bank, and establishment. In particular, seed size, dormancy, and early seedling vigor are thought to be key functional traits with important recruitment and fitness consequences across abiotic stress gradients. Selection for favored seed-trait combinations, or against maladaptive combinations, is likely an important driver shaping recruitment strategies. Here, we test for seed-trait plasticity and local adaptation in contrasting upland and lowland ecotypes of Panicum hallii with field experiments in native versus foreign habitats. Furthermore, we test whether seed traits have been under directional selection in P. hallii using the v-test (Fraser 2020) based on trait variance in a genetic cross. Finally, we evaluate the genetic architecture of ecotypic divergence for these traits with Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) mapping. Field experiments reveal little plasticity but support a hypothesis of local adaptation among ecotypes based on recruitment. Patterns of segregation within recombinant hybrids provides strong support for directional selection driving ecotypic divergence in seeds traits. Genetic mapping revealed a polygenic architecture with evidence of genetic correlation between seed mass, dormancy, and seedling vigor. Our results suggest that the evolution of these traits may involve constraints that affect the direction of adaptive divergence. For example, seed size and germination percentage shared two colocalized QTL with antagonistic additive effects. This supports the hypothesis of a functional genetic relationship between these traits, resulting in either large seed/strong dormancy or small seed/weak dormancy trait combinations. Overall, our study provides insights into the factors facilitating and potentially constraining ecotypic differentiation in seed traits.

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