1
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Sharma G, Haak D, Westwood JH, Askew S, Barney JN. Transgenerational phenotypic responses to herbicide stress are more rapid than to shade and simulated herbivory in Arabidopsis. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 39024389 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Weeds in agricultural settings continually adapt to stresses from ecological and anthropogenic sources, in some cases leading to resistant populations. However, consequences of repeated sub-lethal exposure of these stressors on fitness and stress "memory" over generations remain poorly understood. We measured plant performance over a transgenerational experiment with Arabidopsis thaliana where plants were exposed to sub-lethal stress induced by the herbicides glyphosate or trifloxysulfuron, stresses from clipping or shading in either one (G1) or four successive generations (G1-G4), and control plants that never received stress. We found that fourth-generation (G4) plants that had been subjected to three generations of glyphosate or trifloxysulfuron stress produced higher post-stress biomass, seed weight, and rosette area as compared to that produced by plants that experienced stress only in the first generation (G1). By the same measure, clipping and shade were more influential on floral development time (shade) and seed weight (clipping) but did not show responsive phenotypes for vegetative metrics after multiple generations. Overall, we found that plants exhibited more rapid transgenerational vegetative "stress memory" to herbicides while reproductive plasticity was stressor dependent and similar between clipping/shade and anthropogenic stressors. Our study suggests that maternal plant stress memory aids next-generation plants to respond and survive better under the same stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gourav Sharma
- School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
| | - David Haak
- School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
| | - James H Westwood
- School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
| | - Shawn Askew
- School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
| | - Jacob N Barney
- School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
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2
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Ramos-Muñoz M, Blanco-Sánchez M, Pías B, Escudero A, Matesanz S. Transgenerational plasticity to drought: contrasting patterns of non-genetic inheritance in two semi-arid Mediterranean shrubs. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 134:101-116. [PMID: 38488820 PMCID: PMC11161564 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcae039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Intra- and transgenerational plasticity may provide substantial phenotypic variation to cope with environmental change. Since assessing the unique contribution of the maternal environment to the offspring phenotype is challenging in perennial, outcrossing plants, little is known about the evolutionary and ecological implications of transgenerational plasticity and its persistence over the life cycle in these species. We evaluated how intra- and transgenerational plasticity interplay to shape the adaptive responses to drought in two perennial Mediterranean shrubs. METHODS We used a novel common garden approach that reduced within-family genetic variation in both the maternal and offspring generations by growing the same maternal individual in two contrasting watering environments, well-watered and drought, in consecutive years. We then assessed phenotypic differences at the reproductive stage between offspring reciprocally grown in the same environments. KEY RESULTS Maternal drought had an effect on offspring performance only in Helianthemum squamatum. Offspring of drought-stressed plants showed more inflorescences, less sclerophyllous leaves and higher growth rates in both watering conditions, and heavier seeds under drought, than offspring of well-watered maternal plants. Maternal drought also induced similar plasticity patterns across maternal families, showing a general increase in seed mass in response to offspring drought, a pattern not observed in the offspring of well-watered plants. In contrast, both species expressed immediate adaptive plasticity, and the magnitude of intragenerational plasticity was larger than the transgenerational plastic responses. CONCLUSIONS Our results highlight that adaptive effects associated with maternal drought can persist beyond the seedling stage and provide evidence of species-level variation in the expression of transgenerational plasticity. Such differences between co-occurring Mediterranean species in the prevalence of this form of non-genetic inheritance may result in differential vulnerability to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Ramos-Muñoz
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Mario Blanco-Sánchez
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Beatriz Pías
- Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/José Antonio Nováis 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Adrián Escudero
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Silvia Matesanz
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
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3
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Pettersen AK, Metcalfe NB, Seebacher F. Intergenerational plasticity aligns with temperature-dependent selection on offspring metabolic rates. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220496. [PMID: 38186279 PMCID: PMC10772613 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Metabolic rates are linked to key life-history traits that are thought to set the pace of life and affect fitness, yet the role that parents may have in shaping the metabolism of their offspring to enhance survival remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of temperature (24°C or 30°C) and feeding frequency experienced by parent zebrafish (Danio rerio) on offspring phenotypes and early survival at different developmental temperatures (24°C or 30°C). We found that embryo size was larger, but survival lower, in offspring from the parental low food treatment. Parents exposed to the warmer temperature and lower food treatment also produced offspring with lower standard metabolic rates-aligning with selection on embryo metabolic rates. Lower metabolic rates were correlated with reduced developmental and growth rates, suggesting selection for a slow pace of life. Our results show that intergenerational phenotypic plasticity on offspring size and metabolic rate can be adaptive when parent and offspring temperatures are matched: the direction of selection on embryo size and metabolism aligned with intergenerational plasticity towards lower metabolism at higher temperatures, particularly in offspring from low-condition parents. These findings provide evidence for adaptive parental effects, but only when parental and offspring environments match. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolutionary significance of variation in metabolic rates'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda K. Pettersen
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
- School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine,, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Neil B. Metcalfe
- School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine,, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Frank Seebacher
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
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4
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Earley TS, Feiner N, Alvarez MF, Coolon JD, Sultan SE. The relative impact of parental and current environment on plant transcriptomes depends on type of stress and genotype. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230824. [PMID: 37752834 PMCID: PMC10523085 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Through developmental plasticity, an individual organism integrates influences from its immediate environment with those due to the environment of its parents. While both effects on phenotypes are well documented, their relative impact has been little studied in natural systems, especially at the level of gene expression. We examined this issue in four genotypes of the annual plant Persicaria maculosa by varying two key resources-light and soil moisture-in both generations. Transcriptomic analyses showed that the relative effects of parent and offspring environment on gene expression (i.e. the number of differentially expressed transcripts, DETs) varied both for the two types of resource stress and among genotypes. For light, immediate environment induced more DETs than parental environment for all genotypes, although the precise proportion of parental versus immediate DETs varied among genotypes. By contrast, the relative effect of soil moisture varied dramatically among genotypes, from 8-fold more DETs due to parental than immediate conditions to 10-fold fewer. These findings provide evidence at the transcriptomic level that the relative impacts of parental and immediate environment on the developing organism may depend on the environmental factor and vary strongly among genotypes, providing potential for the interplay of these developmental influences to evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy S. Earley
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Avenue, Middletown, CT 06459, USA
| | | | - Mariano F. Alvarez
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Avenue, Middletown, CT 06459, USA
| | - Joseph D. Coolon
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Avenue, Middletown, CT 06459, USA
| | - Sonia E. Sultan
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Avenue, Middletown, CT 06459, USA
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5
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Yan Z, Tian D, Han W, Ji C, Hou X, Guo Y, Fang J. Weak transgenerational effects of ancestral nitrogen and phosphorus availabilities on offspring phenotypes in Arabidopsis thaliana. JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH 2023; 136:515-525. [PMID: 37055608 DOI: 10.1007/s10265-023-01456-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Nutrient availability significantly regulates plant growth and metabolic functions, but whether and how the long-term exposure of ancestral plants to contrasting nutrient environments influences offspring phenotypic performance (i.e., transgenerational plasticity) remain poorly addressed. Here we conducted experimental manipulations using Arabidopsis thaliana with the ancestral plants grown in different nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availabilities over eleven consecutive generations, and then examined the offspring phenotypic performance under the interactive effects of current and ancestral nutrient environments. We found that current rather than ancestral nutrient environments dominantly explained the variations in offspring plant traits (i.e., flowering time, aboveground biomass and biomass allocation fractions), suggesting the relatively weak transgenerational effects of ancestral N and P availabilities on offspring phenotypes. In contrast, increasing N and P availabilities in the offspring generation remarkably shortened the flowering time, increased the aboveground biomass, and altered biomass allocation fractions differentially among organs. Despite the overall weak transgenerational phenotypic plasticity, under the low nutrient environment, the offspring of ancestral plants from the low nutrient environment had a significantly higher fruit mass fraction than those from the suitable nutrient environment. Taken together, our findings suggest that A. thaliana exhibits a much stronger within- than trans-generational trait plasticity under contrasting nutrient availabilities, and may provide important insights into the understanding of plant adaptation and evolutionary processes under changing nutrient environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengbing Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China.
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
| | - Di Tian
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
| | - Wenxuan Han
- Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of the Ministry of Education, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Chengjun Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Xinghui Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Yalong Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Jingyun Fang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
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6
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Latzel V, Fischer M, Groot M, Gutzat R, Lampei C, Ouborg J, Parepa M, Schmid K, Vergeer P, Zhang Y, Bossdorf O. Parental environmental effects are common and strong, but unpredictable, in Arabidopsis thaliana. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 237:1014-1023. [PMID: 36319609 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The phenotypes of plants can be influenced by the environmental conditions experienced by their parents. However, there is still much uncertainty about how common and how predictable such parental environmental effects really are. We carried out a comprehensive experimental test for parental effects, subjecting plants of multiple Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes to 24 different biotic or abiotic stresses, or combinations thereof, and comparing their offspring phenotypes in a common environment. The majority of environmental stresses caused significant parental effects, with -35% to +38% changes in offspring fitness. The expression of parental effects was strongly genotype-dependent, and multiple environmental stresses often acted nonadditively when combined. The direction and magnitude of parental effects were unrelated to the direct effects on the parents: Some environmental stresses did not affect the parents but caused substantial effects on offspring, while for others, the situation was reversed. Our study demonstrates that parental environmental effects are common and often strong in A. thaliana, but they are genotype-dependent, act nonadditively, and are difficult to predict. We should thus be cautious with generalizing from simple studies with single plant genotypes and/or only few individual environmental stresses. A thorough and general understanding of parental effects requires large multifactorial experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vít Latzel
- Institute of Botany of the CAS, Zámek 1, 252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Markus Fischer
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Maartje Groot
- Department of Experimental Plant Ecology, Radboud University, PO Box 9100, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Ruben Gutzat
- Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christian Lampei
- Institute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science and Population Genetics, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
- Institute of Biology, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 8, 35032, Marburg, Germany
| | - Joop Ouborg
- Department of Experimental Plant Ecology, Radboud University, PO Box 9100, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Madalin Parepa
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Karl Schmid
- Institute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science and Population Genetics, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Philippine Vergeer
- Department of Experimental Plant Ecology, Radboud University, PO Box 9100, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Yuanye Zhang
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361102, China
| | - Oliver Bossdorf
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
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7
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Morgan BL, Donohue K. Parental methylation mediates how progeny respond to environments of parents and of progeny themselves. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2022; 130:883-899. [PMID: 36201313 PMCID: PMC9758305 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcac125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Environments experienced by both parents and offspring influence progeny traits, but the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate the balance of parental vs. progeny control of progeny phenotypes are not known. We tested whether DNA methylation in parents and/or progeny mediates responses to environmental cues experienced in both generations. METHODS Using Arabidopsis thaliana, we manipulated parental and progeny DNA methylation both chemically, via 5-azacytidine, and genetically, via mutants of methyltransferase genes, then measured progeny germination responses to simulated canopy shade in parental and progeny generations. KEY RESULTS We first found that germination of offspring responded to parental but not seed demethylation. We further found that parental demethylation reversed the parental effect of canopy in seeds with low (Cvi-1) to intermediate (Col) dormancy, but it obliterated the parental effect in seeds with high dormancy (Cvi-0). Demethylation did so by either suppressing germination of seeds matured under white-light (Cvi-1) or under canopy (Cvi-0), or by increasing the germination of seeds matured under canopy (Col). Disruption of parental methylation also prevented seeds from responding to their own light environment in one genotype (Cvi-0, most dormant), but it enabled seeds to respond to their own environment in another genotype (Cvi-1, least dormant). Using mutant genotypes, we found that both CG and non-CG DNA methylation were involved in parental effects on seed germination. CONCLUSIONS Parental methylation state influences seed germination more strongly than does the progeny's own methylation state, and it influences how seeds respond to environments of parents and progeny in a genotype-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Britany L Morgan
- University Program in Ecology Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Kathleen Donohue
- University Program in Ecology Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA
- Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA
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8
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Matesanz S, Ramos-Muñoz M, Rubio Teso ML, Iriondo JM. Effects of parental drought on offspring fitness vary among populations of a crop wild relative. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220065. [PMID: 36000234 PMCID: PMC9399706 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Transgenerational plasticity is a form of non-genetic inheritance that can reduce or enhance offspring fitness depending on parental stress. Yet, the adaptive value of such parental environmental effects and whether their expression varies among populations remain largely unknown. We used self-fertilized lines from climatically distinct populations of the crop wild relative Lupinus angustifolius. In the parental generation, full-siblings were grown in two contrasting watering environments. Then, to robustly separate the within-generation and transgenerational response to drought, we reciprocally assigned the offspring of parents to the same experimental treatments. We measured key functional traits and assessed lifetime reproductive fitness. Offspring of drought-stressed parents produced less reproductive biomass, but a similar number of lighter seeds, in dry soil compared to offspring of genetically identical, well-watered parents, an effect not mediated by differences in seed provisioning. Importantly, while the offspring of parents grown in the favourable environment responded to drought by slightly increasing individual seed mass, the pattern of plasticity of the offspring of drought-grown parents showed the opposite direction, and the negative effects of parental drought on seed mass were more pronounced in populations from cooler and moist habitats. Overall, our results show that parental effects may override immediate adaptive responses to drought and provide evidence of population-level variation in the expression of transgenerational plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Matesanz
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marina Ramos-Muñoz
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Luisa Rubio Teso
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - José María Iriondo
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
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9
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Guo Y, Quan J, Wang X, Zhang Z, Liu X, Zhang R, Yue M. Predictability of parental ultraviolet-B environment shapes the growth strategies of clonal Glechoma longituba. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:949752. [PMID: 35991455 PMCID: PMC9386186 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.949752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Although there is an increasing debate about ecological consequences of environmental predictability for plant phenotype and fitness, the effect of predictability of parental environments on the offspring is still indefinite. To clarify the role of environmental predictability in maternal effects and the growth strategy of clonal offspring, a greenhouse experiment was conducted with Glechoma longituba. The parental ramets were arranged in three ultraviolet-B (UV-B) conditions, representing two predictable environments (regular and enhanced UV-B) and an unpredictable environment (random UV-B), respectively. The offspring environments were the same as their parent or not (without UV-B). At the end of experiment, the growth parameters of offspring were analyzed. The results showed that maternal effects and offspring growth were regulated by environmental predictability. Offspring of unpredictable environmental parents invested more resources in improving defense components rather than in rapid growth. Although offspring of predictable parents combined two processes of defense and growth, there were still some differences in the strategies between the two offspring, and the offspring of regular parent increased the biomass allocation to roots (0.069 g of control vs. 0.092 g of regular), but that of enhanced parent changed the resource allocation of nitrogen in roots and phosphorus in blade. Moreover, when UV-B environments of parent and offspring were matched, it seemed that maternal effects were not adaptive, while the growth inhibition in the predictable environment was weaker than that in unpredictable environment. In the predictable environment, the recovered R/S and the increased defense substances (flavonoid and anthocyanin) contributed to improving offspring fitness. In addition, when UV-B environments of parent and offspring were mismatched, offspring growth was restored or improved to some extent. The offspring performance in mismatched environments was controlled by both transgenerational effect and within-generational plasticity. In summary, the maternal effects affected growth strategies of offspring, and the differences of strategies depended on the predictability of parental UV-B environments, the clone improved chemical defense to cope with unpredictable environments, while the growth and defense could be balanced in predictable environments. The anticipatory maternal effects were likely to improve the UV-B resistance.
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10
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Morgan BL, Donohue K. Parental
DNA
methylation influences plasticity of early offspring traits, but offspring
DNA
methylation influences trait plasticity throughout life. Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Britany L. Morgan
- University Program in Ecology Duke University Durham North Carolina USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennessee USA
| | - Kathleen Donohue
- University Program in Ecology Duke University Durham North Carolina USA
- Biology Department Duke University Durham North Carolina USA
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11
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Yu WH, Zhang LM, Luo FL, Yu FH, Li MH. Roles of clonal parental effects in regulating interspecific competition between two floating plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:924001. [PMID: 35937331 PMCID: PMC9355590 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.924001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Parental effects can influence offspring fitness, which may further impact interspecific competition. However, few studies have tested the role of clonal parental effects in regulating interspecific interactions and examined the underlying mechanisms. We conducted two consecutive experiments with two clonal plants (Pistia stratiotes and Eichhornia crassipes). In the first experiment, the mother ramet of P. stratiotes and E. crassipes were grown in two nutrient levels and treated with a DNA demethylation reagent (5-azacytidine) or not. In the second experiment, the offspring ramets from each of the four treatments in the first experiment were grown alone (no competition) or with a heterospecific neighbor (with interspecific competition). We found no parental nutrient effect on the competitive ability of E. crassipes, but a significant parental nutrient effect of both E. crassipes and P. stratiotes on the competitive ability of P. stratiotes. Furthermore, the parental nutrient effect of P. stratiotes on the competitive ability of P. stratiotes varied depending on the DNA methylation status of both P. stratiotes and E. crassipes. These clonal parental effects were related to resource provisioning and/or DNA methylation. We conclude that clonal parental nutrient effects can regulate interspecific competition between P. stratiotes and E. crassipes by altering the competitive ability of P. stratiotes. Both resource provisioning and epigenetic mechanisms can be involved in these clonal parental effects. By regulating interspecific competition, clonal parental effects may further influence species coexistence, community structure, and ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Han Yu
- Institute of Wetland Ecology and Clone Ecology/Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Li-Min Zhang
- Institute of Wetland Ecology and Clone Ecology/Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Fang-Li Luo
- School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Fei-Hai Yu
- Institute of Wetland Ecology and Clone Ecology/Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Mai-He Li
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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12
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Xue W, Huang L, Yu F, Bezemer TM. Light condition experienced by parent plants influences the response of offspring to light via both parental effects and soil legacy effects. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wei Xue
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology / Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Taizhou University Taizhou China
| | - Lin Huang
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology / Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Taizhou University Taizhou China
| | - Fei‐Hai Yu
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology / Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Taizhou University Taizhou China
| | - T. Martijn Bezemer
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) Aboveground Belowground Interactions Group, Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen The Netherlands
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13
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Zhang LM, Roiloa SR, Zhang JF, Yu WH, Qiu CY, Wang DH, Yu FH. Clonal Parental Effects on Offspring Growth of Different Vegetative Generations in the Aquatic Plant Pistia stratiotes. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:890309. [PMID: 35832222 PMCID: PMC9272891 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.890309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Parental (environmental) effects can modify the growth of offspring, which may play an essential role in their adaptation to environmental variation. While numerous studies have tested parental effects on offspring growth, most have considered offspring growth of only one generation and very few have considered offspring growth of different generations. We conducted a greenhouse experiment with an aquatic clonal plant Pistia stratiotes. We grew a single ramet of P. stratiotes under low or high nutrients, the initial (parent) ramets produced three different generations of offspring ramets, and these offspring ramets were also subjected to the same two nutrient levels. High nutrients currently experienced by the offspring increased biomass accumulation and ramet number of all three offspring generations of P. stratiotes. However, these positive effects on biomass were greater when the offspring ramets originated from the parent ramets grown under low nutrients than when they were produced by the parent ramets grown under high nutrients. These results suggest that parental effects can impact the performance of different offspring generations of clonal plants. However, heavier offspring ramets produced under high nutrients in parental conditions did not increase the subsequent growth of the offspring generations. This finding indicates that parental provisioning in favorable conditions may not always increase offspring growth, partly depending on root allocation but not ramet size such as ramet biomass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Min Zhang
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Sergio R. Roiloa
- BioCost Group, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Jia-Fan Zhang
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Wen-Han Yu
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Chen-Yan Qiu
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Dan-Hao Wang
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Fei-Hai Yu
- Institute of Wetland Ecology & Clone Ecology, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
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14
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Tie D, Guo Y, Zhu C, Quan J, Liu S, Zhou Z, Chai Y, Yue M, Liu X. Parental UV-B radiation regulates the habitat selection of clonal Duchesnea indica in heterogeneous light environments. FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY : FPB 2022; 49:600-612. [PMID: 35272763 DOI: 10.1071/fp21253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Habitat selection behaviour is an effective strategy adopted by clonal plants in heterogeneous understorey light environments, and it is likely regulated by the parental environment's ultraviolet-B radiation levels (UV-B) due to the photomorphogenesis of UV-B and maternal effects. Here, parental ramets of Duchesnea indica were treated with two UV-B radiation levels [high (UV5 group) and low (UV10 group)], newborn offspring were grown under a heterogeneous light environment (ambient light vs shade habitat), and the growth and DNA methylation variations of parents and offspring were analysed. The results showed that parental UV-B affected not only the growth of the parent but also the offspring. The offspring of different UV-B-radiated parents showed different performances. Although these offspring all displayed a tendency to escape from light environments, such as entering shade habitats earlier, and allocating more biomass under shade (33.06% of control, 42.28% of UV5 and 72.73% of UV10), these were particularly obvious in offspring of the high UV-B parent. Improvements in epigenetic diversity (4.77 of control vs 4.83 of UV10) and total DNA methylation levels (25.94% of control vs 27.15% of UV10) and the inhibition of shade avoidance syndrome (denser growth with shorter stolons and internodes) were only observed in offspring of high UV-B parents. This difference was related to the eustress and stress effects of low and high UV-B, respectively. Overall, the behaviour of D. indica under heterogeneous light conditions was regulated by the parental UV-B exposure. Moreover, certain performance improvements helped offspring pre-regulate growth to cope with future environments and were probably associated with the effects of maternal DNA methylation variations in UV-B-radiated parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Tie
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China; and Linyou Branch of Baoji Tobacco Company, Linyou County, Baoji, China
| | - Yuehan Guo
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Chunrui Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jiaxin Quan
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Shiqiang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zhe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yongfu Chai
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Ming Yue
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
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15
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Gómez-Hurtado MA, Ramírez-Briones E, Arreaga-González HM, Rodríguez-García G, Cerda-García-Rojas CM, Joseph-Nathan P, Del Río RE. Chiral NMR analysis reveals the environmental dependence of areolal scalemization in Piptothrix areolare. Chirality 2022; 34:864-876. [PMID: 35315141 DOI: 10.1002/chir.23436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The occurrence of racemic and enantiomerically enriched (scalemic) mixtures of secondary metabolites in their natural sources is a rare phenomenon. The unprecedent case of enantiomeric variations from levorotatory to dextrorotatory, and back to levorotatory, passing through an almost racemic mixture, was recently documented for areolal, the major epoxythymol of Piptothrix areolare. In an attempt to shed some light to understand the reasons for such an unusual behavior, herein, we evaluated this phenomenon by correlating the areolal enantiomeric purity with several environmental variables, including temperature, humidity, rain precipitation, wind speed, and radiation during over 1 year of the plant life cycle. The specific rotation and enantiomeric excess determined by 1 H-NMR-BINOL measurements provided the scalemic variations of areolal samples isolated from the roots collected from the same location along a 427-day period. The 1 H-NMR-BINOL methodology provided better sensitivity to enantiomeric variations than specific rotation measurements. Statistical data, including matrix correlation analysis, exploratory analysis by heatmap plotting, and the principal component analysis (PCA), suggested direct correlation of the scalemic variation with humidity, rain precipitation, and radiation variables with the best PCA explanation (78.4%) and noncritical or poor correlations in PCA explained in 60.2% and 48.4%, respectively. When variations in the optical activity parameter of any metabolite are observed, the search for scalemic mixtures along their host plant life cycle should be undertaken. Herein, this phenomenon could be associated with interactions with soil microorganisms and with evolutionary aspects of Piptothrix areolare which belongs to Asteraceae, one of the most successfully adaptable plant families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario A Gómez-Hurtado
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químico Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Mexico
| | - Ernesto Ramírez-Briones
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químico Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Mexico
| | - Héctor M Arreaga-González
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químico Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Mexico.,Departamento de Química, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Gabriela Rodríguez-García
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químico Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Mexico
| | - Carlos M Cerda-García-Rojas
- Departamento de Química, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Pedro Joseph-Nathan
- Departamento de Química, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Rosa E Del Río
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químico Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Mexico
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16
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Camilleri T, Piper MDW, Robker RL, Dowling DK. Maternal and paternal sugar consumption interact to modify offspring life history and physiology. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Rebecca L. Robker
- School of Biomedicine Robinson Research Institute The University of Adelaide Adelaide SA Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences Monash University Clayton VIC Australia
| | - Damian K. Dowling
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Clayton VIC Australia
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17
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Waterman R, Sultan SE. Transgenerational effects of parent plant competition on offspring development in contrasting conditions. Ecology 2021; 102:e03531. [PMID: 34496058 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Conditions during a parent's lifetime can induce phenotypic changes in offspring, providing a potentially important source of variation in natural populations. Yet, to date, biotic factors have seldom been tested as sources of transgenerational effects in plants. In a greenhouse experiment with the generalist annual Polygonum persicaria, we tested for effects of parental competition on offspring by growing isogenic parent plants either individually or in competitive arrays and comparing their seedling progeny in contrasting growth environments. Offspring of competing vs. non-competing parents showed significantly altered development, resulting in greater biomass and total leaf area, but only when growing in neighbor or simulated canopy shade, rather than sunny dry conditions. A follow-up experiment in which parent plants instead competed in dry soil found that offspring in dry soil had slightly reduced growth, both with and without competitors. In neither experiment were effects of parental competition explained by changes in seed provisioning, suggesting a more complex mode of regulatory inheritance. We hypothesize that parental competition in moist soil (i.e., primarily for light) confers specific developmental effects that are beneficial for light-limited offspring, while parental competition in dry soil (i.e., primarily for belowground resources) produces offspring of slightly lower overall quality. Together, these results indicate that competitive conditions during the parental generation can contribute significantly to offspring variation, but these transgenerational effects will depend on the abiotic resources available to both parents and progeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Waterman
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459, USA.,Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48823, USA
| | - Sonia E Sultan
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459, USA
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18
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Huber M, Gablenz S, Höfer M. Transgenerational non-genetic inheritance has fitness costs and benefits under recurring stress in the clonal duckweed Spirodela polyrhiza. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211269. [PMID: 34284629 PMCID: PMC8292752 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Although non-genetic inheritance is thought to play an important role in plant ecology and evolution, evidence for adaptive transgenerational plasticity is scarce. Here, we investigated the consequences of copper excess on offspring defences and fitness under recurring stress in the duckweed Spirodela polyrhiza across multiple asexual generations. Growing large monoclonal populations (greater than 10 000 individuals) for 30 generations under copper excess had negative fitness effects after short and no fitness effect after prolonged growth under recurring stress. These time-dependent growth rates were likely influenced by environment-induced transgenerational responses, as propagating plants as single descendants for 2 to 10 generations under copper excess had positive, negative or neutral effects on offspring fitness depending on the interval between initial and recurring stress (5 to 15 generations). Fitness benefits under recurring stress were independent of flavonoid accumulations, which in turn were associated with altered plant copper concentrations. Copper excess modified offspring fitness under recurring stress in a genotype-specific manner, and increasing the interval between initial and recurring stress reversed these genotype-specific fitness effects. Taken together, these data demonstrate time- and genotype-dependent adaptive and non-adaptive transgenerational responses under recurring stress, which suggests that non-genetic inheritance alters the evolutionary trajectory of clonal plant lineages in fluctuating environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meret Huber
- Department of Biochemistry, Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Saskia Gablenz
- Department of Biochemistry, Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Höfer
- Department of Biochemistry, Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
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19
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Subrahmaniam HJ, Roby D, Roux F. Toward Unifying Evolutionary Ecology and Genomics to Understand Positive Plant-Plant Interactions Within Wild Species. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:683373. [PMID: 34305981 PMCID: PMC8299075 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.683373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In a local environment, plant networks include interactions among individuals of different species and among genotypes of the same species. While interspecific interactions are recognized as main drivers of plant community patterns, intraspecific interactions have recently gained attention in explaining plant community dynamics. However, an overview of intraspecific genotype-by-genotype interaction patterns within wild plant species is still missing. From the literature, we identified 91 experiments that were mainly designed to investigate the presence of positive interactions based on two contrasting hypotheses. Kin selection theory predicts partisan help given to a genealogical relative. The rationale behind this hypothesis relies on kin/non-kin recognition, with the positive outcome of kin cooperation substantiating it. On the other hand, the elbow-room hypothesis supports intraspecific niche partitioning leading to positive outcome when genetically distant genotypes interact. Positive diversity-productivity relationship rationalizes this hypothesis, notably with the outcome of overyielding. We found that both these hypotheses have been highly supported in experimental studies despite their opposite predictions between the extent of genetic relatedness among neighbors and the level of positive interactions. Interestingly, we identified a highly significant effect of breeding system, with a high proportion of selfing species associated with the presence of kin cooperation. Nonetheless, we identified several shortcomings regardless of the species considered, such as the lack of a reliable estimate of genetic relatedness among genotypes and ecological characterization of the natural habitats from which genotypes were collected, thereby impeding the identification of selective drivers of positive interactions. We therefore propose a framework combining evolutionary ecology and genomics to establish the eco-genomic landscape of positive GxG interactions in wild plant species.
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20
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McGuigan K, Hoffmann AA, Sgrò CM. How is epigenetics predicted to contribute to climate change adaptation? What evidence do we need? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200119. [PMID: 33866811 PMCID: PMC8059617 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Transgenerational effects that are interpreted in terms of epigenetics have become an important research focus at a time when rapid environmental changes are occurring. These effects are usually interpreted as enhancing fitness extremely rapidly, without depending on the slower process of natural selection changing DNA-encoded (fixed) genetic variants in populations. Supporting evidence comes from a variety of sources, including environmental associations with epialleles, cross-generation responses of clonal material exposed to different environmental conditions, and altered patterns of methylation or frequency changes in epialleles across time. Transgenerational environmental effects have been postulated to be larger than those associated with DNA-encoded genetic changes, based on (for instance) stronger associations between epialleles and environmental conditions. Yet environmental associations for fixed genetic differences may always be weak under polygenic models where multiple combinations of alleles can lead to the same evolutionary outcome. The ultimate currency of adaptation is fitness, and few transgenerational studies have robustly determined fitness effects, particularly when compared to fixed genetic variants. Not all transgenerational modifications triggered by climate change will increase fitness: stressful conditions often trigger negative fitness effects across generations that can eliminate benefits. Epigenetic responses and other transgenerational effects will undoubtedly play a role in climate change adaptation, but further, well-designed, studies are required to test their importance relative to DNA-encoded changes. This article is part of the theme issue 'How does epigenetics influence the course of evolution?'
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina McGuigan
- School of Biological Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ary A. Hoffmann
- School of Biosciences and Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia
| | - Carla M. Sgrò
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia
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21
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Mertens D, Boege K, Kessler A, Koricheva J, Thaler JS, Whiteman NK, Poelman EH. Predictability of Biotic Stress Structures Plant Defence Evolution. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:444-456. [PMID: 33468354 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
To achieve ecological and reproductive success, plants need to mitigate a multitude of stressors. The stressors encountered by plants are highly dynamic but typically vary predictably due to seasonality or correlations among stressors. As plants face physiological and ecological constraints in responses to stress, it can be beneficial for plants to evolve the ability to incorporate predictable patterns of stress in their life histories. Here, we discuss how plants predict adverse conditions, which plant strategies integrate predictability of biotic stress, and how such strategies can evolve. We propose that plants commonly optimise responses to correlated sequences or combinations of herbivores and pathogens, and that the predictability of these patterns is a key factor governing plant strategies in dynamic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daan Mertens
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Karina Boege
- Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Apartado Postal 70-275, Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - André Kessler
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Julia Koricheva
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | | | - Noah K Whiteman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Erik H Poelman
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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22
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Joschinski J, Bonte D. Transgenerational Plasticity and Bet-Hedging: A Framework for Reaction Norm Evolution. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.517183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Decision-making under uncertain conditions favors bet-hedging (avoidance of fitness variance), whereas predictable environments favor phenotypic plasticity. However, entirely predictable or entirely unpredictable conditions are rarely found in nature. Intermediate strategies are required when the time lag between information sensing and phenotype induction is large (e.g., transgenerational plasticity) and when cues are only partially predictive of future conditions. Nevertheless, current theory regards plasticity and bet-hedging as distinct entities. We here develop a unifying framework: based on traits with binary outcomes like seed germination or diapause incidence we clarify that diversified bet-hedging (risk-spreading among one’s offspring) and transgenerational plasticity are mutually exclusive strategies, arising from opposing changes in reaction norms (allocating phenotypic variance among or within environments). We further explain the relationship of this continuum with arithmetic mean maximization vs. conservative bet-hedging (a risk-avoidance strategy), and canalization vs. phenotypic variance in a three-dimensional continuum of reaction norm evolution. We discuss under which scenarios costs and limits may constrain the evolution of reaction norm shapes.
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23
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Adrian-Kalchhauser I, Sultan SE, Shama LNS, Spence-Jones H, Tiso S, Keller Valsecchi CI, Weissing FJ. Understanding 'Non-genetic' Inheritance: Insights from Molecular-Evolutionary Crosstalk. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 35:1078-1089. [PMID: 33036806 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the evolutionary and ecological roles of 'non-genetic' inheritance (NGI) is daunting due to the complexity and diversity of epigenetic mechanisms. We draw on insights from molecular and evolutionary biology perspectives to identify three general features of 'non-genetic' inheritance systems: (i) they are functionally interdependent with, rather than separate from, DNA sequence; (ii) precise mechanisms vary phylogenetically and operationally; and (iii) epigenetic elements are probabilistic, interactive regulatory factors and not deterministic 'epialleles' with defined genomic locations and effects. We discuss each of these features and offer recommendations for future empirical and theoretical research that implements a unifying inherited gene regulation (IGR) approach to studies of 'non-genetic' inheritance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Adrian-Kalchhauser
- Centre for Fish and Wildlife Health, Department for Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Sonia E Sultan
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459, USA
| | - Lisa N S Shama
- Coastal Ecology Section, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Wadden Sea Station Sylt, Hafenstrasse 43, 25992 List, Germany
| | - Helen Spence-Jones
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St. Andrews, UK
| | - Stefano Tiso
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Ackermannweg 4, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Franz J Weissing
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747, AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
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24
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Nguyen B, Than A, Dinh H, Morimoto J, Ponton F. Parental Microbiota Modulates Offspring Development, Body Mass and Fecundity in a Polyphagous Fruit Fly. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E1289. [PMID: 32846933 PMCID: PMC7563405 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8091289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The commensal microbiota is a key modulator of animal fitness, but little is known about the extent to which the parental microbiota influences fitness-related traits of future generations. We addressed this gap by manipulating the parental microbiota of a polyphagous fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) and measuring offspring developmental traits, body composition, and fecundity. We generated three parental microbiota treatments where parents had a microbiota that was non-manipulated (control), removed (axenic), or removed-and-reintroduced (reinoculation). We found that the percentage of egg hatching, of pupal production, and body weight of larvae and adult females were lower in offspring of axenic parents compared to that of non-axenic parents. The percentage of partially emerged adults was higher, and fecundity of adult females was lower in offspring of axenic parents relative to offspring of control and reinoculated parents. There was no significant effect of parental microbiota manipulation on offspring developmental time or lipid reserve. Our results reveal transgenerational effects of the parental commensal microbiota on different aspects of offspring life-history traits, thereby providing a better understanding of the long-lasting effects of host-microbe interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binh Nguyen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2113, Australia; (B.N.); (A.T.); (H.D.); (J.M.)
| | - Anh Than
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2113, Australia; (B.N.); (A.T.); (H.D.); (J.M.)
- Department of Entomology, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Trau Quy, Gia Lam, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
| | - Hue Dinh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2113, Australia; (B.N.); (A.T.); (H.D.); (J.M.)
| | - Juliano Morimoto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2113, Australia; (B.N.); (A.T.); (H.D.); (J.M.)
- School of Biological Sciences, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Ave, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK
| | - Fleur Ponton
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2113, Australia; (B.N.); (A.T.); (H.D.); (J.M.)
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25
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Cavieres G, Rezende EL, Clavijo‐Baquet S, Alruiz JM, Rivera‐Rebella C, Boher F, Bozinovic F. Rapid within- and transgenerational changes in thermal tolerance and fitness in variable thermal landscapes. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:8105-8113. [PMID: 32788964 PMCID: PMC7417229 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Revised: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity may increase the performance and fitness and allow organisms to cope with variable environmental conditions. We studied within-generation plasticity and transgenerational effects of thermal conditions on temperature tolerance and demographic parameters in Drosophila melanogaster. We employed a fully factorial design, in which both parental (P) and offspring generations (F1) were reared in a constant or a variable thermal environment. Thermal variability during ontogeny increased heat tolerance in P, but with demographic cost as this treatment resulted in substantially lower survival, fecundity, and net reproductive rate. The adverse effects of thermal variability (V) on demographic parameters were less drastic in flies from the F1, which exhibited higher net reproductive rates than their parents. These compensatory responses could not totally overcome the challenges of the thermally variable regime, contrasting with the offspring of flies raised in a constant temperature (C) that showed no reduction in fitness with thermal variation. Thus, the parental thermal environment had effects on thermal tolerance and demographic parameters in fruit fly. These results demonstrate how transgenerational effects of environmental conditions on heat tolerance, as well as their potential costs on other fitness components, can have a major impact on populations' resilience to warming temperatures and more frequent thermal extremes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grisel Cavieres
- Departamento de EcologíaCenter of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES)Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiagoChile
| | - Enrico L. Rezende
- Departamento de EcologíaCenter of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES)Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiagoChile
| | | | - José M. Alruiz
- Departamento de EcologíaCenter of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES)Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiagoChile
| | - Carla Rivera‐Rebella
- Departamento de EcologíaCenter of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES)Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiagoChile
| | - Francisca Boher
- Departamento de EcologíaCenter of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES)Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiagoChile
| | - Francisco Bozinovic
- Departamento de EcologíaCenter of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES)Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiagoChile
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26
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Denney DA, Jameel MI, Bemmels JB, Rochford ME, Anderson JT. Small spaces, big impacts: contributions of micro-environmental variation to population persistence under climate change. AOB PLANTS 2020; 12:plaa005. [PMID: 32211145 PMCID: PMC7082537 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plaa005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Individuals within natural populations can experience very different abiotic and biotic conditions across small spatial scales owing to microtopography and other micro-environmental gradients. Ecological and evolutionary studies often ignore the effects of micro-environment on plant population and community dynamics. Here, we explore the extent to which fine-grained variation in abiotic and biotic conditions contributes to within-population variation in trait expression and genetic diversity in natural plant populations. Furthermore, we consider whether benign microhabitats could buffer local populations of some plant species from abiotic stresses imposed by rapid anthropogenic climate change. If microrefugia sustain local populations and communities in the short term, other eco-evolutionary processes, such as gene flow and adaptation, could enhance population stability in the longer term. We caution, however, that local populations may still decline in size as they contract into rare microhabitats and microrefugia. We encourage future research that explicitly examines the role of the micro-environment in maintaining genetic variation within local populations, favouring the evolution of phenotypic plasticity at local scales and enhancing population persistence under global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek A Denney
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - M Inam Jameel
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Jordan B Bemmels
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mia E Rochford
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Jill T Anderson
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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Acasuso-Rivero C, Murren CJ, Schlichting CD, Steiner UK. Adaptive phenotypic plasticity for life-history and less fitness-related traits. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190653. [PMID: 31185861 PMCID: PMC6571476 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Organisms are faced with variable environments and one of the most common solutions to cope with such variability is phenotypic plasticity, a modification of the phenotype to the environment. These modifications are commonly modelled in evolutionary theories as adaptive, influencing ecological and evolutionary processes. If plasticity is adaptive, we would predict that the closer to fitness a trait is, the less plastic it would be. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a meta-analysis of 213 studies and measured the plasticity of each reported trait as a coefficient of variation. Traits were categorized as closer to fitness-life-history traits including reproduction and survival related traits, and farther from fitness-non-life-history traits including traits related to development, metabolism and physiology, morphology and behaviour. Our results showed, unexpectedly, that although traits differed in their amounts of plasticity, trait plasticity was not related to its proximity to fitness. These findings were independent of taxonomic groups or environmental types assessed. We caution against general expectations that plasticity is adaptive, as assumed by many models of its evolution. More studies are needed that test the adaptive nature of plasticity, and additional theoretical explorations on adaptive and non-adaptive plasticity are encouraged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Acasuso-Rivero
- INSERM U1001, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté Cochin, 75014 Paris, France
| | | | - Carl D. Schlichting
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Ulrich K. Steiner
- INSERM U1001, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté Cochin, 75014 Paris, France
- Department of Biology, Center of Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
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28
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Fox RJ, Donelson JM, Schunter C, Ravasi T, Gaitán-Espitia JD. Beyond buying time: the role of plasticity in phenotypic adaptation to rapid environmental change. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180174. [PMID: 30966962 PMCID: PMC6365870 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 250] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
How populations and species respond to modified environmental conditions is critical to their persistence both now and into the future, particularly given the increasing pace of environmental change. The process of adaptation to novel environmental conditions can occur via two mechanisms: (1) the expression of phenotypic plasticity (the ability of one genotype to express varying phenotypes when exposed to different environmental conditions), and (2) evolution via selection for particular phenotypes, resulting in the modification of genetic variation in the population. Plasticity, because it acts at the level of the individual, is often hailed as a rapid-response mechanism that will enable organisms to adapt and survive in our rapidly changing world. But plasticity can also retard adaptation by shifting the distribution of phenotypes in the population, shielding it from natural selection. In addition to which, not all plastic responses are adaptive-now well-documented in cases of ecological traps. In this theme issue, we aim to present a considered view of plasticity and the role it could play in facilitating or hindering adaption to environmental change. This introduction provides a re-examination of our current understanding of the role of phenotypic plasticity in adaptation and sets the theme issue's contributions in their broader context. Four key themes emerge: the need to measure plasticity across both space and time; the importance of the past in predicting the future; the importance of the link between plasticity and sexual selection; and the need to understand more about the nature of selection on plasticity itself. We conclude by advocating the need for cross-disciplinary collaborations to settle the question of whether plasticity will promote or retard species' rates of adaptation to ever-more stressful environmental conditions. This article is part of the theme issue 'The role of plasticity in phenotypic adaptation to rapid environmental change'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J. Fox
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Jennifer M. Donelson
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia
| | - Celia Schunter
- The Swire Institute of Marine Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, SAR, People's Republic of China
| | - Timothy Ravasi
- KAUST Environmental Epigenetic Program (KEEP), Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Juan D. Gaitán-Espitia
- The Swire Institute of Marine Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, SAR, People's Republic of China
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