scholarly journals Can the Environment have a Genetic Basis? A Case Study of Seedling Establishment in Arabidopsis thaliana

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle C D’Aguillo ◽  
Brianne R Edwards ◽  
Kathleen Donohue
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Seed Dormancy ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Seedling Germination ◽  
Germination Timing

AbstractThe timing of seed germination determines the environment experienced by a plant’s most vulnerable life stage—the seedling. Germination is environmentally cued, and genotypes can differ in their sensitivity to environmental cues. When genotypes differ in their response to cues, and when cues accurately predict the postgermination environment, the postgermination environment experienced by seedlings can itself have a genetic basis and potential to evolve. We tested for genetic differences in the postgermination environment using Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes that vary in seed dormancy, a trait known to alter germination time. We dispersed seeds into the field in 5 seasonal cohorts over 1.5 years, observed germination timing for 5297 individuals, and measured the soil temperature and moisture experienced by individuals throughout their life cycle. We found that genotypes differed in the environments they experienced during seedling establishment. This environmental variation occurred because genotypes differed in their environmental sensitivity to germination cues, and pregermination cues were correlated with postgermination environments. Seeds exhibited temporal habitat selection by germinating into a nonrandom subset of environmental conditions available, and seed dormancy increased the consistency of habitat selection. Strikingly, the postgermination environment affected fitness by altering the probability of seedling survival such that genotypes that engaged in stronger habitat selection were less likely to reach reproduction. Our results suggest that environmentally cued development may be a widespread mechanism by which genotypes can differ in the environment they experience, introducing the possibility that the environment itself can be inherited and can evolve.

scholarly journals Synchronization of senescence and desynchronization of flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana

AoB Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matin Miryeganeh
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Recombinant Inbred Lines ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Reproductive Timing ◽  
Qtl Detection ◽  
Timing Of Reproduction ◽  
Temperature Regimes ◽  
Trait Locus ◽  
Germination Timing

Abstract In a recent publication, we proposed that adjusting lifespan in order to synchronize senescence is important for timing of reproduction, and we quantified the synchrony of reproductive timing relative to germination timing. Here, in a second sequential seeding experiment (SSE), the germination timing of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions was manipulated and plants were then grown under two different temperature regimes. Life stage traits of plants in each temperature regime were analysed and it was evaluated whether the cohorts were grouped according to age and/or environmental conditions. While flowering-related traits showed desynchrony among cohorts, striking synchrony in the timing of senescence among cohorts for each group was found. A quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis using a genotyped population of ‘Cvi/Ler’ recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was then conducted. Novel and known loci were assigned to flowering and senescence timing. However, senescence synchrony resulted in low variation in senescence time and weak QTL detection for flowering termination. Overlapping flowering and senescence genes with loci affecting either of those traits were found and suggest a potential interdependency of reproductive traits.

scholarly journals GENETIC BASIS OF ADAPTATION IN ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA: LOCAL ADAPTATION AT THE SEED DORMANCY QTL DOG1

Evolution ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (7) ◽  
pp. 2287-2302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilkka Kronholm ◽  
F. Xavier Picó ◽  
Carlos Alonso-Blanco ◽  
Jérôme Goudet ◽  
Juliette de Meaux
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Seed Dormancy ◽  
Genetic Basis

scholarly journals Early life stages contribute strongly to local adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (27) ◽  
pp. 7590-7595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Froukje M. Postma ◽  
Jon Ågren
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Seed Dormancy ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Recombinant Inbred Lines ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Early Life Stages ◽  
Adaptive Differentiation

The magnitude and genetic basis of local adaptation is of fundamental interest in evolutionary biology. However, field experiments usually do not consider early life stages, and therefore may underestimate local adaptation and miss genetically based tradeoffs. We examined the contribution of differences in seedling establishment to adaptive differentiation and the genetic architecture of local adaptation using recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from a cross between two locally adapted populations (Italy and Sweden) of the annual plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We planted freshly matured, dormant seeds (>180 000) representing >200 RILs at the native field sites of the parental genotypes, estimated the strength of selection during different life stages, mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) for fitness and its components, and quantified selection on seed dormancy. We found that selection during the seedling establishment phase contributed strongly to the fitness advantage of the local genotype at both sites. With one exception, local alleles of the eight distinct establishment QTL were favored. The major QTL for establishment and total fitness showed evidence of a fitness tradeoff and was located in the same region as the major seed dormancy QTL and the dormancy gene DELAY OF GERMINATION 1 (DOG1). RIL seed dormancy could explain variation in seedling establishment and fitness across the life cycle. Our results demonstrate that genetically based differences in traits affecting performance during early life stages can contribute strongly to adaptive differentiation and genetic tradeoffs, and should be considered for a full understanding of the ecology and genetics of local adaptation.

Seeds and seasons: interpreting germination timing in the field

2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Donohue
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Material ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Seed Maturation ◽  
Genetic Pathways ◽  
Ecological Conditions ◽  
Germination Phenology ◽  
Transgenic Lines ◽  
Germination Timing

This paper discusses how field and laboratory experiments, using a variety of genetic material, can be combined to investigate the genetic basis of germination under realistic ecological conditions, and it reviews some of our recent work on germination phenology ofArabidopsis thalianain the field. Our results indicate that the genetic basis of germination depends on the environment. In particular, the conditions during seed maturation interact with post-dispersal environmental factors to determine germination phenology, and these interactions have a genetic basis. Therefore genetic studies of germination need to consider carefully the environment – both during seed maturation and after dispersal – in which the experiments are conducted in order to characterize genetic pathways involved with germination in the field. Laboratory studies that explicitly manipulate ecologically relevant environmental factors can be combined with manipulative field studies. These studies can identify the particular environmental cues to which seeds respond in the field and characterize the genetic basis of germination responses to those cues. In addition, a variety of genetic material – including mutant and transgenic lines, intact natural genotypes, recombinant genotypes, and near isogenic lines – can be used in field studies as tools to characterize genetic pathways involved in germination schedules under natural ecological conditions.

scholarly journals Variation in Seed Dormancy Quantitative Trait Loci in Arabidopsis thaliana Originating from One Site

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. e20886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca A. Silady ◽  
Sigi Effgen ◽  
Maarten Koornneef ◽  
Matthieu Reymond
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Quantitative Trait Loci ◽  
Seed Dormancy ◽  
Quantitative Trait ◽  
Trait Loci

scholarly journals What wild dogs want: habitat selection differs across life stages and orders of selection in a wide-ranging carnivore

BMC Zoology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen M. K. O’Neill ◽  
Sarah M. Durant ◽  
Rosie Woodroffe
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Selection Function ◽  
Order Selection ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Wild Dogs ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Background Habitat loss is a key threat to the survival of many species. Habitat selection studies provide key information for conservation initiatives by identifying important habitat and anthropogenic characteristics influencing the distribution of threatened species in changing landscapes. However, assumptions about the homogeneity of individual choices on habitat, regardless of life stage, are likely to result in inaccurate assessment of conservation priorities. This study addresses a knowledge gap in how animals at different life stages diverge in how they select habitat and anthropogenic features, using a free-ranging population of African wild dogs living in a human-dominated landscape in Kenya as a case study. Using GPS collar data to develop resource selection function and step selection function models, this study investigated differences between second order (selection of home range across a landscape) and third order (selection of habitat within the home range) habitat selection across four life history stages when resource requirements may vary: resident-non-denning, resident-heavily-pregnant, resident-denning and dispersing. Results Wild dogs showed strong second order selection for areas with low human population densities and areas close to rivers and roads. More rugged areas were also generally selected, as were areas with lower percentage tree cover. The strength of selection for habitat variables varied significantly between life stages; for example, dispersal groups were more tolerant of higher human population densities, whereas denning and pregnant packs were least tolerant of such areas. Conclusions Habitat selection patterns varied between individuals at different life stages and at different orders of selection. These analyses showed that denning packs and dispersal groups, the two pivotal life stages which drive wild dog population dynamics, exhibited different habitat selection to resident-non-breeding packs. Dispersal groups were relatively tolerant of higher human population densities whereas denning packs preferred rugged, remote areas. Evaluating different orders of selection was important as the above trends may not be detectable at all levels of selection for all habitat characteristics. Our analyses demonstrate that when life stage information is included in analyses across different orders of selection, it improves our understanding of how animals use their landscapes, thus providing important insights to aid conservation planning.

Effect of soil water content and temperature on dormancy breaking and germination of three weeds

Weed Science ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 791-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria A. Martinez-Ghersa ◽  
Emilio H. Satorre ◽  
Claudio M. Ghersa
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Seed Dormancy ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Germination Rate ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Dormancy Breaking ◽  
Species Response ◽  
Redroot Pigweed

In laboratory experiments, we studied barnyardgrass, common lambsquarters, and redroot pigweed seed dormancy release by alternating temperatures under different soil water regimes, to determine whether that response serves as a mechanism for assuring seedling establishment. Alternating temperatures were important in breaking seed dormancy in the three weeds, but the species' response to alternating temperatures differed with soil water content. For redroot pigweed and newly dispersed seeds of barnyardgrass, dormancy breaking by alternating temperatures occurred only when soil water content was high enough for germination. Moreover, adverse incubation conditions (constant temperature and low water content) induced secondary dormancy in these seeds. Seventy percent of seeds incubated in open boxes emerged before the soil reached wilting point, when seeds were incubated at temperatures high enough for a high germination rate. A dormancy breaking mechanism that triggers a high rate of germination may be important in assuring success of seedling establishment where rainfall patterns result in wetting and drying cycles of the soil, especially in soil types that lose water rapidly from the surface layers.

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