Associations between population epigenetic differentiation and environmental factors in the exotic weed mile-a-minute (Mikania micrantha)

Weed Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-332
Author(s):  
Jin Shen ◽  
Zhen Wang ◽  
Yingjuan Su ◽  
Ting Wang

AbstractInvasive species face new selective pressures and low genetic variation caused by genetic bottlenecks and founder effects when they are introduced into novel environments. Epigenetic variation may help them to cope with these problems. Mile-a-minute (Mikania micrantha Kunth) is a highly invasive exotic weed that has seriously damaged biodiversity and agricultural ecosystems. We first adopted methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) markers to investigate epigenetic variation of 21 M. micrantha populations in southern China, and further explored the effects of environmental factors on population epigenetic differentiation by correlating epigenetic and climate and soil data. Adaptive epiloci positively correlated with climate/soil variables were identified. Minimum temperature of the coldest month and mean temperature of the coldest quarter were considered as decisive factors for its distribution. Climate is presumed to play a relatively more important role than soil in shaping the adaptive epigenetic differentiation in M. micrantha. Under ongoing global warming, populations of M. micrantha are predicted to expand northward. In addition, the weed also presented higher epigenetic variation compared with genetic variation. Leaf shape variation was detected related to methylation-state change at the population level.

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 291
Author(s):  
Biao Ni ◽  
Jian You ◽  
Jiangnan Li ◽  
Yingda Du ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
...  

Ecological adaptation plays an important role in the process of plant expansion, and genetics and epigenetics are important in the process of plant adaptation. In this study, genetic and epigenetic analyses and soil properties were performed on D. angustifolia of 17 populations, which were selected in the tundra zone on the western slope of the Changbai Mountains. Our results showed that the levels of genetic and epigenetic diversity of D. angustifolia were relatively low, and the main variation occurred among different populations (amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP): 95%, methylation sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP): 87%). In addition, DNA methylation levels varied from 23.36% to 35.70%. Principal component analysis (PCA) results showed that soil properties of different populations were heterogeneous. Correlation analyses showed that soil moisture, pH and total nitrogen were significantly correlated with genetic diversity of D. angustifolia, and soil temperature and pH were closely related to epigenetic diversity. Simple Mantel tests and partial Mantel tests showed that genetic variation significantly correlated with habitat or geographical distance. However, the correlation between epigenetic variation and habitat or geographical distance was not significant. Our results showed that, in the case of low genetic variation and genetic diversity, epigenetic variation and DNA methylation may provide a basis for the adaptation of D. angustifolia.


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 1422-1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce V Taylor ◽  
John F Pearson ◽  
Glynnis Clarke ◽  
Deborah F Mason ◽  
David A Abernethy ◽  
...  

Background: The prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) is not uniform, with a latitudinal gradient of prevalence present in most studies. Understanding the drivers of this gradient may allow a better understanding of the environmental factors involved in MS pathogenesis. Method: The New Zealand national MS prevalence study (NZMSPS) is a cross-sectional study of people with definite MS (DMS) (McDonald criteria 2005) resident in New Zealand on census night, 7 March 2006, utilizing multiple sources of notification. Capture—recapture analysis (CRA) was used to estimate missing cases. Results: Of 2917 people with DMS identified, the crude prevalence was 72.4 per 100,000 population, and 73.1 per 100,000 when age-standardized to the European population. CRA estimated that 96.7% of cases were identified. A latitudinal gradient was seen with MS prevalence increasing three-fold from the North (35°S) to the South (48°S). The gradient was non-uniform; females with relapsing—remitting/secondary-progressive (RRMS/SPMS) disease have a gradient 11 times greater than males with primary-progressive MS ( p < 1 × 10-7). DMS was significantly less common among those of Māori ethnicity. Conclusions: This study confirms the presence of a robust latitudinal gradient of MS prevalence in New Zealand. This gradient is largely driven by European females with the RRMS/SPMS phenotype. These results indicate that the environmental factors that underlie the latitudinal gradient act differentially by gender, ethnicity and MS phenotype. A better understanding of these factors may allow more targeted MS therapies aimed at modifiable environmental triggers at the population level.


Botany ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Nowak ◽  
Adam Nowak ◽  
Usher Posluszny

Compound palm leaf development is unique and consists of two processes. First, the primordial tissue folds through differential growth, forming plications. Second, these plications separate through an abscission-like process, forming leaflets. The second process of leaflet separation allows for the development of compound leaves. The question that this study addresses concerns the development of bifid leaves, as they do not form leaflets but only develop a cleft through an apical incision. The ideal genus to use for this study is Chamaedorea as it includes species with both pinnate and bifid leaves. Chamaedorea fragrans (Ruiz & Pav.) Mart. and Chamaedorea stolonifera H. Wendl. ex Hook. f. were chosen as the species with adult bifid leaves. Although Chamaedorea seifrizii Burret is a pinnate-leaved palm, its juvenile leaves are bifid. Scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy were used to study the development of bifid leaves. Our results indicate that neither of these bifid palms develop separation sites within the lamina, but rather the apical cleft develops through “late leaflet separation” or by an abscission-like process. In contrast, C. seifrizii juvenile leaves exhibit “early leaflet separation” when developing the apical cleft.


Author(s):  
Dominik Schmidt ◽  
Katrin Kahlen

Abstract Leaf shape plays a key role in the interaction of a plant with its environment, best-known in the plant’s light harvest. Effects of the environment on the interplay of canopy architecture and physiological functioning can be estimated using functional-structural plant models (FSPMs). In order to reduce the complexity of canopy simulations, leaf shape models used in FSPMs are often simple prototypes scaled to match current leaf area. L-Cucumber is such an FSPM, whose leaf prototype mimics average real leaf shape of unstressed cucumber plants well. However, adaptation processes or stress responses may lead to non-proportional changes in leaf geometries, which, for example, could affect length to width ratios or curvatures. The current leaf shape model in L-Cucumber is static and hence does not incorporate changes in leaf shape within or between plants. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate leaf shape variation and exemplarily study its effects on FSPM simulations. Three-dimensional leaf coordinate data from a salt stress study were analysed with a robust Bayesian mixed-effects model for estimating leaf shape depending on rank, size and salinity. Results showed that positional and size variation rather than salinity levels dominated 3D leaf shape patterns of cucumber. Considering variable leaf shapes in relation to this main sources of variation in L-Cucumber simulations, only minor effects compared to a realistic, yet static average shape were found. However, with similar computational demands variation in shapes other studies highly sensitive to shape dynamics, for example, pesticide spraying might be affected more strongly.


Author(s):  
Nila Wahyuni

Background: The performance of professional athletes is very important for the achievement of athletes. The athlete's performance is influenced by various factors, namely environmental factors such as training, diet and sociocultural. One important factor that also affects the performance of athletes is genetic factor that are currently being studied. One of the genetic factors believed to play a role in athlete's performance is the Alpha Actinin-3 gene (ACTN 3). Purpose : to examine how the Alpha Actinin-3 (ACTN 3) gene polymorphism causes variation among individuals in athletic muscle performance. Method : study literature. Result : The ACTN 3 gene codes for the ?-actinin-3 protein which plays a role in producing a large force of contraction (rapid forceful contraction). The genetic variation of the ACTN 3 gene causes several variants of the ACTN 3 gene that play a role in the athlete's muscle performance.Keywords: Polymorphism, ACTN Gen 3, Muscle performance.


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