scholarly journals Plant Phenotypic Traits Eventually Shape Its Microbiota: A Common Garden Test

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunshi Li ◽  
Xiukun Wu ◽  
Tuo Chen ◽  
Wanfu Wang ◽  
Guangxiu Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Common Garden ◽  
Phenotypic Traits

scholarly journals An experimentally introduced population of Brassica rapa (Brassicaceae). 2. Rapid evolution of phenotypic traits

2018 ◽  
Vol 151 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Sekor ◽  
Steven J. Franks
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Brassica Rapa ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Phenotypic Selection ◽  
Plant Size ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Multiple Traits ◽  
Introduced Populations ◽  
Evolutionary Changes

Background and aims – Introduced populations can potentially experience strong selection and rapid evolution. While some retrospective studies have shown rapid evolution in introduced populations in the past, few have directly tested for and characterized evolution as it occurs. Here we use an experimental introduction to directly observe and quantify evolution of multiple traits in a plant population introduced to a novel environment. Methods – We experimentally introduced seeds of the annual plant Brassica rapa L. (Brassicaceae) from a location in southern California into multiple replicated plots in New York. We allowed the populations to naturally evolve for 3 years. Following the resurrection approach, we compared ancestors and descendants planted in common garden conditions in New York in multiple phenotypic traits. Key results – Within only three generations, there was significant evolution of several morphological, phenological, and fitness traits, as well as substantial variation among traits. Despite selection for larger size during the three years following introduction, there was evolution of smaller size, earlier flowering time, and shorter duration of flowering. Although there were rapid evolutionary changes in traits, descendants did not have greater fitness than ancestors in New York, indicating a lack of evidence for adaptive evolution, at least over the timeframe of the study. Conclusions – This study found rapid evolution of several morphological and phenological traits, including smaller plant size and shorter time to flowering, following introduction, confirming that evolution can rapidly occur during the early stages of colonization. Many traits evolved in the opposite direction predicted from phenotypic selection analysis, which suggests that the resurrection approach can reveal unanticipated evolutionary changes and can be very useful for studying contemporary evolution.

scholarly journals Multivariate distributions of behavioural, morphological, and ontogenetic traits in hybrids bring new insights into the divergence of sympatric Arctic charr morphs

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quentin J.B. Horta-Lacueva ◽  
Sigurður S. Snorrason ◽  
Michael B. Morrissey ◽  
Camille A. Leblanc ◽  
Kalina H. Kapralova
Keyword(s):  
Salvelinus Alpinus ◽  
Arctic Charr ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Covariance Structures ◽  
Adaptive Divergence ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Phenotypic Variance ◽  
Multivariate Distributions ◽  
Phenotypic Novelty ◽  
Trait Covariance

AbstractStudying the development of fitness related traits in hybrids from populations diverging in sympatry is a fundamental approach to understand the processes of speciation. However, such traits are often affected by covariance structures that complicate the comprehension of these processes, especially because the interactive relationships between traits of different nature (e.g. morphology, behaviour, life-history) remain largely unknown in this context. In a common garden setup, we conducted an extensive examination of phenotypic traits suspected to be involved in the divergence of two recently evolved morphs of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), and investigated the consequences of potential patterns of trait covariance on the phenotype of their hybrids. We observed differences among morphs in overall phenotypic variance and in trait correlations. Phenotypic contrainsts also tended to be reduced in the hybrids, which corroborates the narrative of hybridization facilitating adaptive divergence by relaxing trait covariance. However, the hybrids were associated with reduced phenotypic variance at different scales (i.e. at the scale of the entire P matrix and in different parts of the multivariate space), and we identified stronger correlations between several ontogenetic and morphological traits in the hybrids than in both morphs. These findings suggest a limited potential for hybridization to generate phenotypic novelty, and emphasise the need for multivariate approaches conciliating ontogenetic, morphological and behavioural processes to study the processes of adaptive divergence and speciation.

Using among-year variation to assess maternal effects in Pinus aristata and Pinus flexilis

Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (11) ◽  
pp. 805-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin M. Borgman ◽  
Anna W. Schoettle ◽  
Amy L. Angert
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Effects ◽  
Growth Traits ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Length Variation ◽  
Maternal Environment ◽  
Yearly Variation ◽  
Pinus Flexilis ◽  
Pinus Aristata

Maternal effects, the effect of the maternal environment during development on offspring growth, can complicate the interpretation of common garden studies. Growing one or more generations in a common environment can help minimize maternal effects, but is often not practical with long-lived species. In Pinus aristata Engelm. and Pinus flexilis James, we assessed maternal effects by growing offspring sourced over multiple years from the same mother trees, comparing growth traits between source years. Additionally, we explored the effect of maternal environment on seed characteristics by collecting five twig clippings from each mother tree and measuring characteristics indicative of the relative vigor of the tree during each seed source year. The effect of year was significant for twig growth characteristics, seed size, and seedling performance. For both species, there were significant relationships between the relative inter-annual (RIA) variation in seed mass and the RIA variation in numerous seedling traits including cotyledon length, seedling total dry mass, and needle length. Variation in seed mass was not predicted by yearly variation in the maternal plant’s phenotypic traits. These results support the hypothesis that maternal effects translate into variation in early seedling growth and suggest possibilities to statistically account for them in common garden studies involving long-lived species.

scholarly journals It is lonely at the front: contrasting evolutionary trajectories in male and female invaders

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (12) ◽  
pp. 160687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron M. Hudson ◽  
Gregory P. Brown ◽  
Richard Shine
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Spatial Sorting ◽  
Significant Heritability ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
Sex Disparity

Invasive species often exhibit rapid evolutionary changes, and can provide powerful insights into the selective forces shaping phenotypic traits that influence dispersal rates and/or sexual interactions. Invasions also may modify sexual dimorphism. We measured relative lengths of forelimbs and hindlimbs of more than 3000 field-caught adult cane toads ( Rhinella marina ) from 67 sites in Hawai'i and Australia (1–80 years post-colonization), along with 489 captive-bred individuals from multiple Australian sites raised in a ‘common garden’ (to examine heritability and reduce environmental influences on morphology). As cane toads spread from east to west across Australia, the ancestral condition (long limbs, especially in males) was modified. Limb length relative to body size was first reduced (perhaps owing to natural selection on locomotor ability), but then increased again (perhaps owing to spatial sorting) in the invasion vanguard. In contrast, the sex disparity in relative limb length has progressively decreased during the toads' Australian invasion. Offspring reared in a common environment exhibited similar geographical divergences in morphology as did wild-caught animals, suggesting a genetic basis to the changes. Limb dimensions showed significant heritability (2–17%), consistent with the possibility of an evolved response. Cane toad populations thus have undergone a major shift in sexual dimorphism in relative limb lengths during their brief (81 years) spread through tropical Australia.

scholarly journals On the role of sex differences for evolution in heterogeneous and changing fitness landscapes: insights from pygmy grasshoppers

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1757) ◽  
pp. 20170429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Forsman
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Fitness Landscapes ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Local Adaptations ◽  
Changing Environments

Much research has been devoted to study evolution of local adaptations by natural selection, and to explore the roles of neutral processes and developmental plasticity for patterns of diversity among individuals, populations and species. Some aspects, such as evolution of adaptive variation in phenotypic traits in stable environments, and the role of plasticity in predictable changing environments, are well understood. Other aspects, such as the role of sex differences for evolution in spatially heterogeneous and temporally changing environments and dynamic fitness landscapes, remain elusive. An increased understanding of evolution requires that sex differences in development, physiology, morphology, life-history and behaviours are more broadly considered. Studies of selection should take into consideration that the relationships linking phenotypes to fitness may vary not only according to environmental conditions but also differ between males and females. Such opposing selection, sex-by-environment interaction effects of selection and sex-specific developmental plasticity can have consequences for population differentiation, local adaptations and for the dynamics of polymorphisms. Integrating sex differences in analytical frameworks and population comparisons can therefore illuminate neglected evolutionary drivers and reconcile unexpected patterns. Here, I illustrate these issues using empirical examples from over 20 years of research on colour polymorphic Tetrix subulata and Tetrix undulata pygmy grasshoppers, and summarize findings from observational field studies, manipulation experiments, common garden breeding experiments and population genetics studies. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Linking local adaptation with the evolution of sex differences’.

Effects of latitudinal variation on field and common garden comparisons between native and introduced groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) populations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bi-Ru Zhu ◽  
Xiao-Meng Li ◽  
Da-Yong Zhang ◽  
Wan-Jin Liao
Keyword(s):  
Plant Height ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Senecio Vulgaris ◽  
Chinese Populations ◽  
Introduced Populations ◽  
Native Populations ◽  
Latitudinal Clines ◽  
European Populations ◽  
Better Than

Abstract Aims Field and common garden comparisons are commonly performed to test the rapid evolution of increased vigor in introduced plant populations. Latitudinal clines in phenotypic traits can obscure such evolutionary inferences, particularly when native or introduced populations are distributed across large geographic ranges. We tested whether the latitudinal clines influence comparisons between introduced and native populations of Senecio vulgaris. Methods Senecio vulgaris is native to Europe but has been introduced in northeastern and southwestern China. To evaluate the performance in terms of growth and reproduction between native European populations and introduced Chinese populations, we compared plant height, number of branches and number of capitula in field populations in native and introduced ranges and in a common garden in Switzerland. Important Findings The introduced Chinese populations performed better than the native European populations in the field in terms of plant height and number of capitula, which was consistent with the prediction of the evolution of the increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis. The Chinese populations produced more capitula than the European populations when the latitudinal cline was considered in the common garden comparison. When we compared the traits of the northeastern Chinese, southwestern Chinese and European populations in both the field and common garden, the northeastern Chinese populations, at latitudes similar to those of the European populations, exhibited greater plant size and more capitula than the European populations in both the field and common garden. However, the southwestern Chinese populations, at latitudes much lower than those of the European populations, did not perform better than the native populations in terms of reproduction. In conclusion, our results suggest that latitudinal clines in phenotypic traits should be considered in field and common garden comparisons when introduced populations are geographically structured.

Phenotypic diversity and heritability in Eragrostis tef under irrigated Mediterranean conditions

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 222-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiran Ben-Zeev ◽  
Jajaw Bimro ◽  
Vered Barak ◽  
Yehoshua Saranga
Keyword(s):  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Phenotypic Diversity ◽  
Germplasm Collection ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Eragrostis Tef ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Single Plant ◽  
Field Plots ◽  
Screen House ◽  
Mediterranean Conditions

Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) is a C4 annual cereal, common in Ethiopia, where it was presumably domesticated. Worldwide interest in tef cultivation and consumption has considerably increased in the last few decades because it is a gluten-free grain with high nutritional value. Here we report on the genetic diversity and heritability in a tef germplasm collection characterized in Israel. A total of 408 accessions of tef held in the Israel Gene Bank were grown in 2015 under common garden (screen-house) conditions for propagation and initial phenotyping. A diversity panel, consisting of 273 accessions representing the entire collection's range of phenotypic diversity, was assembled and evaluated in small field plots in 2016. Further evaluation was conducted in 2017, in single-plant field plots (to eliminate admixtures). A representative plant (plot) was selected from each accession grown in 2017 and its single seed descent progenies where grown in 2018 in single-plant plots. The collection exhibited a wide diversity for each of the measured phenotypic traits, across all four environments. High grain yield was associated in most cases with early flowering time, whereas higher biomass was associated with late flowering. Heritability estimates, calculated based on the 2017, 2018 data, varied between 0.11 for plant biomass and 0.75 for 1000 grain weight. This study shows that tef can successfully grow and produce under irrigated Mediterranean conditions. The wide diversity available in our germplasm collection can provide the foundations for breeding new tef cultivars that are better adapted to these conditions.

New insights into the polyploid complex Cenchrus ciliaris L. (Poaceae) show its capacity for gene flow and recombination processes despite its apomictic nature

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amina Kharrat-Souissi ◽  
Alex Baumel ◽  
Franck Torre ◽  
Marianick Juin ◽  
Sonja Siljak-Yakovlev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Aflp Markers ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Cenchrus Ciliaris ◽  
Ploidy Levels ◽  
Recombination Processes

Cenchrus ciliaris L. is a C4 perennial grass of arid lands which is under the focus of different ecological issues such as response to desertification, quality of forage grass and impacts of invasions. Here, molecular and morphological analyses of the genetic diversity of several Tunisian provenances of C. ciliaris were performed to better understand the phenotypic polymorphism of this agamospermous and polyploid grass. Ten phenotypic traits associated with productivity were measured in a common garden environment. Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers were developed to investigate the structure of genetic diversity among and within provenances and between the three ploidy levels. Heritable phenotypic traits showed considerable differences within provenances. Surprisingly, AFLP markers revealed the existence of genotypic variations between individuals of the same sibship and a high G/N value (0.55). A neighbour-joining tree based on AFLP markers revealed three major groups; tetraploid, pentaploid and a mix of pentaploid and hexaploids. These groups do not correspond completely to the geographical origin of samples. The results underline the possibility of sexual reproduction, recombination and gene flow within and between populations of C. ciliaris. In respect with the well known dynamic nature of polyploid genomes, these results should have strong consequences for the future management of this grass for both conservation and invasion issues.

scholarly journals Resurrection approach shows evolutionary changes in drought responses in European plant species after two decades of climate change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Rauschkolb ◽  
Lisa Henres ◽  
Caroline Lou ◽  
Sandrine Godefroid ◽  
Lara Dixon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Recent Climate

Plant populations must continuously adapt to the impacts of ongoing global climate change, including warmer temperatures and more extreme weather events. We can detect such evolutionary changes within plant populations through the resurrection approach whereby plants grown from seeds stored in seed banks (“ancestors”) are compared to freshly collected seeds from the same populations (“descendants”) in common garden experiments. In this study we used the resurrection approach in two multi-species experiments to investigate changes in phenotypic traits and drought tolerance of European plant species from two biogeographic regions. In the seedling survival experiment using seedlings of four Mediterranean species, watering was ceased and day of mortality recorded. We found that descendants survived significantly longer without any watering but these seedlings were smaller than the ancestral seedlings. In the watering response experiment we investigated phenotypic responses to drought in adult plants of nine species originating from temperate climatic regions in Europe. We found that descendant plants were significantly taller under well-watered conditions but smaller under drought than their ancestors, thus showing stronger plasticity. Our study suggests that plants have already evolved phenotypically, including through changes in trait means and plasticity, within the last decades. The observed evolutionary changes are consistent with adaptation to increased drought. More generally, the resurrection approach proved to be a useful tool to study rapid evolutionary processes in plants under climate change. Future studies should include fitness measures and comparative transplantations of descendants and ancestors into their original habitat to disentangle adaptive from non-adaptive responses to recent climate change.

scholarly journals Is the behavioural divergence between range-core and range-edge populations of cane toads ( Rhinella marina ) due to evolutionary change or developmental plasticity?

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. 170789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodie Gruber ◽  
Gregory Brown ◽  
Martin J. Whiting ◽  
Richard Shine
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Genetic Traits ◽  
Rhinella Marina ◽  
Range Edge ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Edge Populations ◽  
Range Core

Individuals at the leading edge of expanding biological invasions often show distinctive phenotypic traits, in ways that enhance their ability to disperse rapidly and to function effectively in novel environments. Cane toads ( Rhinella marina ) at the invasion front in Australia exhibit shifts in morphology, physiology and behaviour (directionality of dispersal, boldness, risk-taking). We took a common-garden approach, raising toads from range-core and range-edge populations in captivity, to see if the behavioural divergences observed in wild-caught toads are also evident in common-garden offspring. Captive-raised toads from the invasion vanguard population were more exploratory and bolder (more prone to ‘risky’ behaviours) than toads from the range core, which suggests that these are evolved, genetic traits. Our study highlights the importance of behaviour as being potentially adaptive in invasive populations and adds these behavioural traits to the increasing list of phenotypic traits that have evolved rapidly during the toads' 80-year spread through tropical Australia.

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