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Sánchez-Gómez D, Aranda I. Unveiling intra-population functional variability patterns in a European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) population from the southern range edge: drought resistance, post-drought recovery and phenotypic plasticity. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 44:tpae107. [PMID: 39163264 PMCID: PMC11412075 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpae107] [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: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 08/05/2024] [Accepted: 08/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/22/2024]
Abstract
Understanding covariation patterns of drought resistance, post-drought recovery and phenotypic plasticity, and their variability at the intra-population level are crucial for predicting forest vulnerability to increasing aridity. This knowledge is particularly urgent at the trailing range edge since, in these areas, tree species are proximal to their ecological niche boundaries. While this proximity increases their susceptibility, these populations are recognized as valuable genetic reservoirs against environmental stressors. The conservation of this genetic variability is critical for the adaptive capacity of the species in the current context of climate change. Here we examined intra-population patterns of stem basal growth, gas exchange and other leaf functional traits in response to an experimental drought in seedlings of 16 open-pollinated families within a marginal population of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) from its southern range edge. We found a high degree of intra-population variation in leaf functional traits, photosynthetic performance, growth patterns and phenotypic plasticity in response to water availability. Low phenotypic plasticity was associated with higher resistance to drought. Both drought resistance and post-drought recovery of photosynthetic performance varied between maternal lines. However, drought resistance and post-drought recovery exhibited independent variation. We also found intra-population variation in stomatal sensitivity to soil drying, but it was not associated with either drought resistance or post-drought recovery. We conclude that an inverse relationship between phenotypic plasticity and drought resistance is not necessarily a sign of maladaptive plasticity, but rather it may reflect stability of functional performance and hence adaptation to withstand drought. The independent variation found between drought resistance and post-drought recovery should facilitate to some extent microevolution and adaption to increasing aridity. The observed variability in stomatal sensitivity to soil drying was consistent with previous findings at other scales (e.g., inter-specific variation, inter-population variation) that challenge the iso-anisohydric concept as a reliable surrogate of drought tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Sánchez-Gómez
- Department of Ecology and Forest Genetics, Instituto de Ciencias Forestales (ICIFOR-INIA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Carretera La Coruña Km 7.5, E-28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ismael Aranda
- Department of Ecology and Forest Genetics, Instituto de Ciencias Forestales (ICIFOR-INIA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Carretera La Coruña Km 7.5, E-28040 Madrid, Spain
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Oro D, Freixas L, Bartrina C, Míguez S, Torre I. Direct and indirect effects of climate and seed dynamics on the breeding performance of a seed predator at the distribution edge. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e70104. [PMID: 39157667 PMCID: PMC11327614 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Revised: 07/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Marginal populations usually have low densities and are considered to be particularly vulnerable to environmental stochasticity. Using data collected in nest boxes, we analyzed the breeding performance of the edible dormouse (Glis glis), an obligate hibernating rodent and a seed predator in deciduous forests, in two populations at the distribution range's edge. Despite being only 20 km apart from each other, Montseny is a large patch of mixed deciduous forests (oaks and beech), whereas Montnegre would be the harshest habitat, that is, a small, isolated patch with only oaks. First, we studied the differences in climate and tree cover change in the two populations. Second, we analyzed the direct and indirect roles of local climate conditions and seed availability on breeding performance over 10 years in each population. Finally, we explored the influence of tree cover change on the occupancy dynamics in the two populations. Our results showed contrasting responses between populations: in Montseny, asynchronous seed production between oaks and beech precluded skip breeding, and breeding performance increased with seed availability. Furthermore, dormice in Montseny may use pollen production to anticipate the amount of beech nut resources and adjust their breeding effort. Boxes showed higher occupancy and colonization and fewer extinctions in Montseny than in Montnegre, where seed availability did not drive breeding performance. Results from Montnegre suggest that skip breeding was an adaptive response to a more pulsed, harsher environment. Here, females produced a similar number of pups than at Montseny. Long-term studies dealing with population responses in marginal habitats can lead to a deeper understanding of the capacities of organisms to adapt to harsh environments. Although local adaptation is frequently documented across various taxa, studies at the distribution edge may shed light on our still limited comprehension of the underlying mechanisms responsible for its occurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Oro
- Ecology and Complexity DepartmentCenter of Advanced Studies (CEAB‐CSIC)BlanesSpain
| | - Lídia Freixas
- BiBio Research GroupNatural Sciences Museum of GranollersGranollersSpain
| | - Carme Bartrina
- BiBio Research GroupNatural Sciences Museum of GranollersGranollersSpain
| | | | - Ignasi Torre
- BiBio Research GroupNatural Sciences Museum of GranollersGranollersSpain
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Pawłowski TA, Suszka J, Mucha J, Zadworny M, Alipour S, Kurpisz B, Chmielarz P, Jagodziński AM, Chmura DJ. Climate legacy in seed and seedling traits of European beech populations. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1355328. [PMID: 38911972 PMCID: PMC11190307 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1355328] [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: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
Tree species' ability to persist within their current distribution ranges is determined by seed germination and seedling growth. Exploring variation in these traits in relation to climatic conditions helps to understand and predict tree population dynamics, and to support species management and conservation under future climate. We analyzed seeds and seedlings of 26 European beech populations from the northeastern boundary of the species range to test whether: 1) adaptation to climatic conditions is reflected in depth of dormancy and germination of seeds; 2) climatic characteristics of origin predictably affect seedling traits. The variation in seed dormancy and germination in a laboratory test, and seedling growth and morphology traits in a nursery common-garden test was examined. Populations originating from warmer and drier sites (mostly from the northern region), compared to those from the opposite end of climatic gradient, germinated later, with a lower success, and produced seedlings with shorter and tougher roots. They had deeper dormancy and poorer seed germination capacity, and are likely more vulnerable to environmental changes. The climatic conditions at the origin shape the intraspecific variation of seed germination and seedling traits, and may limit regeneration from seed and affect adaptation potential of beech to increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jan Suszka
- Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kórnik, Poland
| | - Joanna Mucha
- Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kórnik, Poland
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Marcin Zadworny
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Shirin Alipour
- Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kórnik, Poland
| | - Barbara Kurpisz
- Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kórnik, Poland
| | - Paweł Chmielarz
- Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kórnik, Poland
| | | | - Daniel J. Chmura
- Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kórnik, Poland
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Chaturvedi RK, Pandey SK, Tripathi A, Goparaju L, Raghubanshi AS, Singh JS. Variations in the plasticity of functional traits indicate the differential impacts of abiotic and biotic factors on the structure and growth of trees in tropical dry forest fragments. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 14:1181293. [PMID: 38333040 PMCID: PMC10851170 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1181293] [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: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Abiotic and biotic factors have considerable impact on the plasticity of plant functional traits, which influences forest structure and productivity; however, their inter-relationships have not been quantified for fragmented tropical dry forest (TDF) ecosystems. We asked the following questions: (1) what are the variations in the plasticity of functional traits due to soil moisture availability in TDF fragments? (2) what are the roles of soil nutrients and forest disturbances in influencing variations in the plasticity of functional traits in the TDF fragments? and (3) how do the variations in the plasticity of functional traits influence the structure and productivity of TDF fragments? Based on linear mixed-effects results, we observed significant variations among tree species for soil moisture content (SMC) under the canopy and selected functional traits across forest fragments. We categorized tree species across fragments by principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering on principal components (HCPC) analyses into three functional types, viz., low wood density high deciduous (LWHD), high wood density medium deciduous (HWMD), and high wood density low deciduous (HWLD). Assemblage of functional traits suggested that the LWHD functional type exhibits a drought-avoiding strategy, whereas HWMD and HWLD adopt a drought-tolerant strategy. Our study showed that the variations in functional trait plasticity and the structural attributes of trees in the three functional types exhibit contrasting affinity with SMC, soil nutrients, and disturbances, although the LWHD functional type was comparatively more influenced by soil resources and disturbances compared to HWMD and HWLD along the declining SMC and edge distance gradients. Plasticity in functional traits for the LWHD functional type exhibited greater variations in traits associated with the conservation of water and resources, whereas for HWMD and HWLD, the traits exhibiting greater plasticity were linked with higher productivity and water transport. The cumulative influence of SMC, disturbances, and functional trait variations was also visible in the relative abundance of functional types in large and small sized fragments. Our analysis further revealed the critical differences in the responses of functional trait plasticity of the coexisting tree species in TDF, which suggests that important deciduous endemic species with drought-avoiding strategies might be prone to strategic exclusion under expected rises in anthropogenic disturbances, habitat fragmentation, and resource limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Kant Chaturvedi
- Center for Integrative Conservation and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Conservation of Tropical Rainforests and Asian Elephant, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Yunnan, China
| | - Santosh Kumar Pandey
- Ecosystems Analysis Laboratory, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Anshuman Tripathi
- Training, Safety and Environment, National Mineral Development Corporation Limited, Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, India
| | - Laxmi Goparaju
- Forest and Remote Sensing, Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - J. S. Singh
- Ecosystems Analysis Laboratory, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Liao G, Ning X, Yang Y, Wang Z, Fan G, Wang X, Fu D, Liu J, Tang M, Chen S, Wang J. Main Habitat Factors Driving the Phenotypic Diversity of Litsea cubeba in China. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:3781. [PMID: 37960137 PMCID: PMC10648399 DOI: 10.3390/plants12213781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. is an important woody spice tree in southern China, and its fruit is a rich source of valuable essential oil. We surveyed and sampled L. cubeba germplasm resources from 36 provenances in nine Chinese provinces, and detected rich phenotypic diversity. The survey results showed that plants of SC-KJ, SC-HJ, and SC-LS provenance presented higher leaf area (LA); YN-SM and YN-XC plants had larger thousand-grain fresh weight (TFW); and HN-DX plants had the highest essential oil content (EOC). To explain the large differences in the phenotypes of L. cubeba among different habitats, we used Pearson's correlation analysis, multiple stepwise regression path analysis, and redundancy analysis to evaluate the phenotypic diversity of L. cubeba. It was found that compared to other traits, leaf and fruit traits had more significant geographical distributions, and that leaf phenotypes were correlated to fruit phenotypes. The results showed that elevation, latitude, longitude, total soil porosity (SP), soil bulk density (SBD), and average annual rainfall (AAR, mm) contributed significantly to the phenotypic diversity of L. cubeba. Geographical factors explained a higher percentage of variation in phenotypic diversity than did soil factors and climate factors. Plants of SC-KJ and HN-DX provenances could be important resources for domestication and breeding to develop new high-yielding varieties of this woody aromatic plant. This study describes significant phenotypic differences in L. cubeba related to adaptation to different environments, and provides a theoretical basis for the development of a breeding strategy and for optimizing L. cubeba cultivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoxiang Liao
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Silviculture, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; (G.L.); (X.N.)
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Xiaodan Ning
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Silviculture, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; (G.L.); (X.N.)
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Yuling Yang
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Zongde Wang
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Guorong Fan
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Xuefang Wang
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Silviculture, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; (G.L.); (X.N.)
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Dan Fu
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Silviculture, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; (G.L.); (X.N.)
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Juan Liu
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Silviculture, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; (G.L.); (X.N.)
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Ming Tang
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Shangxing Chen
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Jiawei Wang
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Silviculture, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; (G.L.); (X.N.)
- East China Woody Fragrance and Flavor Engineering Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
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Solé-Medina A, Ramírez-Valiente JA. Common garden experiments reveal acquisitive strategies for responding to drought in seedlings of forest tree species: a commentary on 'Clinal variations in seedling traits and responses to water availability correspond to seed-source environmental gradients in a foundational dryland tree species'. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2023; 132:i-ii. [PMID: 37703333 PMCID: PMC10583190 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
This article comments on:
Georgia L. Vasey, Alexandra K. Urza, Jeanne C. Chambers, Elizabeth G. Pringle and Peter J. Weisberg. Clinal variations in seedling traits and responses to water availability correspond to seed-source environmental gradients in a foundational dryland tree species, Annals of Botany, Volume 132, Issue 2, 25 July 2023, Pages 203–216, https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad041
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida Solé-Medina
- Department of Forest Ecology & Genetics, Forest Research Centre (ICIFOR-INIA, CSIC), Ctra. de la Coruña km 7.5, Madrid, 28040, Spain
| | - José Alberto Ramírez-Valiente
- Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre, CREAF, Campus de Bellaterra (UAB) 10 Edifici C, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Spain
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Martínez-Vilalta J, García-Valdés R, Jump A, Vilà-Cabrera A, Mencuccini M. Accounting for trait variability and coordination in predictions of drought-induced range shifts in woody plants. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 240:23-40. [PMID: 37501525 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Functional traits offer a promising avenue to improve predictions of species range shifts under climate change, which will entail warmer and often drier conditions. Although the conceptual foundation linking traits with plant performance and range shifts appears solid, the predictive ability of individual traits remains generally low. In this review, we address this apparent paradox, emphasizing examples of woody plants and traits associated with drought responses at the species' rear edge. Low predictive ability reflects the fact not only that range dynamics tend to be complex and multifactorial, as well as uncertainty in the identification of relevant traits and limited data availability, but also that trait effects are scale- and context-dependent. The latter results from the complex interactions among traits (e.g. compensatory effects) and between them and the environment (e.g. exposure), which ultimately determine persistence and colonization capacity. To confront this complexity, a more balanced coverage of the main functional dimensions involved (stress tolerance, resource use, regeneration and dispersal) is needed, and modelling approaches must be developed that explicitly account for: trait coordination in a hierarchical context; trait variability in space and time and its relationship with exposure; and the effect of biotic interactions in an ecological community context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Martínez-Vilalta
- CREAF, E08193, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E08193, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
| | - Raúl García-Valdés
- CREAF, E08193, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
- Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), E25280, Solsona, Spain
- Department of Biology, Geology, Physics and Inorganic Chemistry, School of Experimental Sciences and Technology, Rey Juan Carlos University, E28933, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alistair Jump
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA, Stirling, UK
| | - Albert Vilà-Cabrera
- CREAF, E08193, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA, Stirling, UK
| | - Maurizio Mencuccini
- CREAF, E08193, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, E08010, Barcelona, Spain
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de la Mata R, Zas R. Plasticity in growth is genetically variable and highly conserved across spatial scales in a Mediterranean pine. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 240:542-554. [PMID: 37491863 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19158] [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: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity is a main mechanism for sessile organisms to cope with changing environments. Plasticity is genetically based and can evolve under natural selection so that populations within a species show distinct phenotypic responses to environment. An important question that remains elusive is whether the intraspecific variation in plasticity at different spatial scales is independent from each other. To test whether variation in plasticity to macro- and micro-environmental variation is related among each other, we used growth data of 25 Pinus pinaster populations established in seven field common gardens in NW Spain. Phenotypic plasticity to macro-environmental variation was estimated across test sites while plasticity to micro-environmental variation was estimated by using semivariography and kriging for modeling within-site heterogeneity. We provide empirical evidence of among-population variation in the magnitude of plastic responses to both micro- and macro-environmental variation. Importantly, we found that such responses were positively correlated across spatial scales. Selection for plasticity at one scale of environmental variation may impact the expression of plasticity at other scales, having important consequences on the ability of populations to buffer climate change. These results improve our understanding of the ecological drivers underlying the expression of phenotypic plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raul de la Mata
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EBD-CSIC), Sevilla, Andalucía, 41092, Spain
| | - Rafael Zas
- Misión Biológica de Galicia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MBG-CSIC), Apdo 28, Pontevedra, 36080, Spain
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Chen X, Wang L, Yan X, Tang Z. Nutrition regulates sex expression in a gender diphasy plant, Lilium concolor var. megalanthum. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1252242. [PMID: 37771480 PMCID: PMC10523294 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1252242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Introduction The evolution and maintenance of plant polymorphism have always received much attention. Gender diphasy is a rare sexual system. Plant individuals with gender diphasy can adjust the resource allocation of different functional organs according to the changes of environmental conditions to regulate the sex expression of individuals, and the sex expression can be converted between years. However, our understanding of sex expression in plants is still very insufficient. In this study, we explored whether the perennial plant Lilium concolor var. megalanthum has a gender diphasy system and whether environmental resource availability affects its resource allocation and sex expression. Method By collecting the bulbs of two sexual phenotypes (male and hermaphrodite) in the field and simulating the application of different levels of nutrients under the same habitat conditions, the growth and reproduction indexes and sex expression of plants in two years (2021 and 2022) were measured to evaluate the resource allocation strategy and sex expression pattern of Lilium concolor var. megalanthum. Results We found that the sex expression of Lilium concolor var. megalanthum was variable in continuous years. Under limited resources, Lilium concolor var. megalanthum increases the biomass resources of the leaves and has a longer flowering period. Resource availability regulates the growth, reproduction and sex expression of Lilium concolor var. megalanthum. Bulb size is the main factor affecting its growth, reproduction and sex expression after accumulating sufficient resources. Discussion This study confirms that Lilium concolor var. megalanthum has gender diphasy system. There is a strong trade-off between growth and reproduction under limited resources. Nutrient levels can regulate the reproduction and sex expression process of Lilium concolor var. megalanthum. With the growth of Lilium concolor var. megalanthum in consecutive years, the size dependence of bulbs may be the decisive factor in its sex expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Chen
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Key Laboratory for Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Lei Wang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Key Laboratory for Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Xingfu Yan
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection of Agro-pastoral Ecotones in the Yellow River Basin, National Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China, College of Biological Science and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Zhanhui Tang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Key Laboratory for Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
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Szukala A, Bertel C, Frajman B, Schönswetter P, Paun O. Parallel adaptation to lower altitudes is associated with enhanced plasticity in Heliosperma pusillum (Caryophyllaceae). THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 115:1619-1632. [PMID: 37277969 PMCID: PMC10952512 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16342] [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: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
High levels of phenotypic plasticity are thought to be inherently costly in stable or extreme environments, but enhanced plasticity may evolve as a response to new environments and foster novel phenotypes. Heliosperma pusillum forms glabrous alpine and pubescent montane ecotypes that diverged recurrently and polytopically (parallel evolution) and can serve as evolutionary replicates. The specific alpine and montane localities are characterized by distinct temperature conditions, available moisture, and light. Noteworthy, the ecotypes show a home-site fitness advantage in reciprocal transplantations. To disentangle the relative contribution of constitutive versus plastic gene expression to altitudinal divergence, we analyze the transcriptomic profiles of two parallely evolved ecotype pairs, grown in reciprocal transplantations at native altitudinal sites. In this incipient stage of divergence, only a minor proportion of genes appear constitutively differentially expressed between the ecotypes in both pairs, regardless of the growing environment. Both derived, montane populations bear comparatively higher plasticity of gene expression than the alpine populations. Genes that change expression plastically or constitutively underlie similar ecologically relevant pathways, related to response to drought and trichome formation. Other relevant processes, such as photosynthesis, rely mainly on plastic changes. The enhanced plasticity consistently observed in the montane ecotype likely evolved as a response to the newly colonized, drier, and warmer niche. We report a striking parallelism of directional changes in gene expression plasticity. Thus, plasticity appears to be a key mechanism shaping the initial stages of phenotypic evolution, likely fostering adaptation to novel environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aglaia Szukala
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity ResearchUniversity of ViennaRennweg 14A‐1030ViennaAustria
- Vienna Graduate School of Population GeneticsViennaAustria
- Austrian Federal Research Centre for Forests (BFW)Unit of Ecological GeneticsSeckendorff‐Gudent‐Weg 8A‐1131ViennaAustria
| | - Clara Bertel
- Department of BotanyUniversity of InnsbruckInnsbruckAustria
| | - Božo Frajman
- Department of BotanyUniversity of InnsbruckInnsbruckAustria
| | | | - Ovidiu Paun
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity ResearchUniversity of ViennaRennweg 14A‐1030ViennaAustria
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Usui T, Lerner D, Eckert I, Angert AL, Garroway CJ, Hargreaves A, Lancaster LT, Lessard JP, Riva F, Schmidt C, van der Burg K, Marshall KE. The evolution of plasticity at geographic range edges. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:831-842. [PMID: 37183152 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity enables rapid responses to environmental change, and could facilitate range shifts in response to climate change. What drives the evolution of plasticity at range edges, and the capacity of range-edge individuals to be plastic, remain unclear. Here, we propose that accurately predicting when plasticity itself evolves or mediates adaptive evolution at expanding range edges requires integrating knowledge on the demography and evolution of edge populations. Our synthesis shows that: (i) the demography of edge populations can amplify or attenuate responses to selection for plasticity through diverse pathways, and (ii) demographic effects on plasticity are modified by the stability of range edges. Our spatially explicit synthesis for plasticity has the potential to improve predictions for range shifts with climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuji Usui
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - David Lerner
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Isaac Eckert
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Amy L Angert
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Colin J Garroway
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Anna Hargreaves
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | | | - Federico Riva
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Chloé Schmidt
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Karin van der Burg
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Katie E Marshall
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
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12
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FitzPatrick JA, Doucet BI, Holt SD, Patterson CM, Kooyers NJ. Unique drought resistance strategies occur among monkeyflower populations spanning an aridity gradient. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16207. [PMID: 37347451 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16207] [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: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Annual plants often exhibit drought-escape and avoidance strategies to cope with limited water availability. Determining the extent of variation and factors underlying the evolution of divergent strategies is necessary for determining population responses to more frequent and severe droughts. METHODS We leveraged five Mimulus guttatus populations collected across an aridity gradient within manipulative drought and quantitative genetics experiments to examine constitutive and terminal-drought induced responses in drought resistance traits. RESULTS Populations varied considerably in drought-escape- and drought-avoidance-associated traits. The most mesic population demonstrated a unique resource conservative strategy. Xeric populations exhibited extreme plasticity when exposed to terminal drought that included flowering earlier at shorter heights, increasing water-use efficiency, and shifting C:N ratios. However, plasticity responses also differed between populations, with two populations slowing growth rates and flowering at earlier nodes and another population increasing growth rate. While nearly all traits were heritable, phenotypic correlations differed substantially between treatments and often, populations. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest drought resistance strategies of populations may be finely adapted to local patterns of water availability. Substantial plastic responses suggest that xeric populations can already acclimate to drought through plasticity, but populations not frequently exposed to drought may be more vulnerable.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Braden I Doucet
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, 70503, USA
| | - Stacy D Holt
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, 70503, USA
| | | | - Nicholas J Kooyers
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, 70503, USA
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13
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Rowland L, Ramírez-Valiente JA, Hartley IP, Mencuccini M. How woody plants adjust above- and below-ground traits in response to sustained drought. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023. [PMID: 37306017 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Future increases in drought severity and frequency are predicted to have substantial impacts on plant function and survival. However, there is considerable uncertainty concerning what drought adjustment is and whether plants can adjust to sustained drought. This review focuses on woody plants and synthesises the evidence for drought adjustment in a selection of key above-ground and below-ground plant traits. We assess whether evaluating the drought adjustment of single traits, or selections of traits that operate on the same plant functional axis (e.g. photosynthetic traits) is sufficient, or whether a multi-trait approach, integrating across multiple axes, is required. We conclude that studies on drought adjustments in woody plants might overestimate the capacity for adjustment to drier environments if spatial studies along gradients are used, without complementary experimental approaches. We provide evidence that drought adjustment is common in above-ground and below-ground traits; however, whether this is adaptive and sufficient to respond to future droughts remains uncertain for most species. To address this uncertainty, we must move towards studying trait integration within and across multiple axes of plant function (e.g. above-ground and below-ground) to gain a holistic view of drought adjustments at the whole-plant scale and how these influence plant survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy Rowland
- Geography, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK
| | | | - Iain P Hartley
- Geography, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK
| | - Maurizio Mencuccini
- CREAF, Campus de Bellaterra (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallés, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, 08010, Spain
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14
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Jiménez-Ramírez A, Solé-Medina A, Ramírez-Valiente JA, Robledo-Arnuncio JJ. Microgeographic variation in early fitness traits of Pinus sylvestris from contrasting soils. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16159. [PMID: 36943007 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16159] [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: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE The possibility of fine-scale intraspecific adaptive divergence under gene flow is established by theoretical models and has been confirmed empirically in tree populations distributed along steep altitudinal clines or across extreme edaphic discontinuities. However, the possibility of microgeographic adaptive divergence due to less severe but more frequent kinds of soil variation is unclear. METHODS In this study, we looked for evidence of local adaptation to calcareous versus siliceous soil types in two nearby Mediterranean Pinus sylvestris populations connected via pollen flow. Using a greenhouse experiment, we tested for variation in early (up to three years of age) seedling performance among open-pollinated maternal families originating from each edaphic provenance when experimentally grown on both types of natural local substrate. RESULTS Although seedlings were clearly affected by the edaphic environment, exhibiting lower and slower emergence as well as higher mortality on the calcareous than in the siliceous substrate, neither the performance on each substrate nor the plasticity among substrates varied significantly with seedling edaphic provenance. CONCLUSIONS We found no evidence of local adaptation to a non-extreme edaphic discontinuity over a small spatial scale, at least during early stages of seedling establishment. Future studies on microgeographic soil-driven adaptation should consider long-term experiments to minimize maternal effects and allow a potentially delayed expression of edaphic adaptive divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azucena Jiménez-Ramírez
- Instituto de Ciencias Forestales, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (ICIFOR-INIA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Aida Solé-Medina
- Instituto de Ciencias Forestales, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (ICIFOR-INIA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - José A Ramírez-Valiente
- Instituto de Ciencias Forestales, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (ICIFOR-INIA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre (CREAF), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Juan J Robledo-Arnuncio
- Instituto de Ciencias Forestales, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (ICIFOR-INIA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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15
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Ramírez-Valiente JA, Solé-Medina A, Robledo-Arnuncio JJ, Ortego J. Genomic data and common garden experiments reveal climate-driven selection on ecophysiological traits in two Mediterranean oaks. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:983-999. [PMID: 36479963 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16816] [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: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 12/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Improving our knowledge of how past climate-driven selection has acted on present-day trait population divergence is essential to understand local adaptation processes and improve our predictions of evolutionary trajectories in the face of altered selection pressures resulting from climate change. In this study, we investigated signals of selection on traits related to drought tolerance and growth rates in two Mediterranean oak species (Quercus faginea and Q. lusitanica) with contrasting distribution ranges and climatic niches. We genotyped 182 individuals from 24 natural populations of the two species using restriction-site-associated DNA sequencing and conducted a thorough functional characterization in 1602 seedlings from 21 populations cultivated in common garden experiments under contrasting watering treatments. Our genomic data revealed that both Q. faginea and Q. lusitanica have very weak population genetic structure, probably as a result of high rates of pollen-mediated gene flow among populations and large effective population sizes. In contrast, common garden experiments showed evidence of climate-driven divergent selection among populations on traits related to leaf morphology, physiology and growth in both species. Overall, our study suggests that climate is an important selective factor for Mediterranean oaks and that ecophysiological traits have evolved in drought-prone environments even in a context of very high rates of gene flow among populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Alberto Ramírez-Valiente
- Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre, CREAF, Campus de Bellaterra (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Aida Solé-Medina
- Instituto de Ciencias Forestales (ICIFOR-INIA), CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Joaquín Ortego
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-CSIC, Seville, Spain
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16
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de la Mata R, Zas R, Bustingorri G, Sampedro L, Rust M, Hernandez‐Serrano A, Sala A. Drivers of population differentiation in phenotypic plasticity in a temperate conifer: A 27-year study. Evol Appl 2022; 15:1945-1962. [PMID: 36426125 PMCID: PMC9679231 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity is a main mechanism for organisms to cope with changing environments and broaden their ecological range. Plasticity is genetically based and can evolve under natural selection, such that populations within a species show distinct phenotypic responses to the environment if evolved under different conditions. Understanding how intraspecific variation in phenotypic plasticity arises is critical to assess potential adaptation to ongoing climate change. Theory predicts that plasticity is favored in more favorable but variable environments. Yet, many theoretical predictions about benefits, costs, and selection on plasticity remain untested. To test these predictions, we took advantage of three genetic trials in the northern Rocky Mountains, USA, which assessed 23 closely located Pinus ponderosa populations over 27 years. Mean environmental conditions and their spatial patterns of variation at the seed source populations were characterized based on six basic climate parameters. Despite the small area of origin, there was significant genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity for tree growth among populations. We found a significant negative correlation between phenotypic plasticity and the patch size of environmental heterogeneity at the seed source populations, but not with total environmental spatial variance. These results show that populations exposed to high microhabitat heterogeneity have evolved higher phenotypic plasticity and that the trigger was the grain rather than the total magnitude of spatial heterogeneity. Contrary to theoretical predictions, we also found a positive relationship between population plasticity and summer drought at the seed source, indicating that drought can act as a trigger of plasticity. Finally, we found a negative correlation between the quantitative genetic variance within populations and their phenotypic plasticity, suggesting compensatory adaptive mechanisms for the lack of genetic diversity. These results improve our understanding of the microevolutionary drivers of phenotypic plasticity, a critical process for resilience of long-lived species under climate change, and support decision-making in tree genetic improvement programs and seed transfer strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raul de la Mata
- Division of Biological SciencesUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMontanaUSA
- Estación Biológica de DoñanaConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EBD‐CSIC)SevillaSpain
| | - Rafael Zas
- Misión Biológica de GaliciaConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MBG‐CSIC)PontevedraSpain
| | - Gloria Bustingorri
- Misión Biológica de GaliciaConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MBG‐CSIC)PontevedraSpain
| | - Luis Sampedro
- Misión Biológica de GaliciaConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MBG‐CSIC)PontevedraSpain
| | - Marc Rust
- Inland Empire Tree Improvement CooperativeUniversity of IdahoMoscowIdahoUSA
| | - Ana Hernandez‐Serrano
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF)Cerdanyola del VallèsSpain
| | - Anna Sala
- Division of Biological SciencesUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMontanaUSA
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Bertel C, Kaplenig D, Ralser M, Arc E, Kolář F, Wos G, Hülber K, Holzinger A, Kranner I, Neuner G. Parallel Differentiation and Plastic Adjustment of Leaf Anatomy in Alpine Arabidopsis arenosa Ecotypes. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 11:2626. [PMID: 36235492 PMCID: PMC9573220 DOI: 10.3390/plants11192626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Functional and structural adjustments of plants in response to environmental factors, including those occurring in alpine habitats, can result in transient acclimation, plastic phenotypic adjustments and/or heritable adaptation. To unravel repeatedly selected traits with potential adaptive advantage, we studied parallel (ecotypic) and non-parallel (regional) differentiation in leaf traits in alpine and foothill ecotypes of Arabidopsis arenosa. Leaves of plants from eight alpine and eight foothill populations, representing three independent alpine colonization events in different mountain ranges, were investigated by microscopy techniques after reciprocal transplantation. Most traits clearly differed between the foothill and the alpine ecotype, with plastic adjustments to the local environment. In alpine populations, leaves were thicker, with altered proportions of palisade and spongy parenchyma, and had fewer trichomes, and chloroplasts contained large starch grains with less stacked grana thylakoids compared to foothill populations. Geographical origin had no impact on most traits except for trichome and stomatal density on abaxial leaf surfaces. The strong parallel, heritable ecotypic differentiation in various leaf traits and the absence of regional effects suggests that most of the observed leaf traits are adaptive. These trait shifts may reflect general trends in the adaptation of leaf anatomy associated with the colonization of alpine habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Bertel
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Dominik Kaplenig
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Maria Ralser
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Erwann Arc
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Filip Kolář
- Department of Botany, Charles University of Prague, 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Guillaume Wos
- Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, 00-901 Krakow, Poland
| | - Karl Hülber
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Holzinger
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Ilse Kranner
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Gilbert Neuner
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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18
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Yu H, Chen Y, Zhou G, Xu Z. Coordination of leaf functional traits under climatic warming in an arid ecosystem. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 22:439. [PMID: 36100908 PMCID: PMC9472406 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-022-03818-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Climatic warming is increasing regionally and globally, and results concerning warming and its consequent drought impacts have been reported extensively. However, due to a lack of quantitative analysis of warming severities, it is still unclear how warming and warming-induced drought influence leaf functional traits, particularly how the traits coordinate with each other to cope with climatic change. To address these uncertainties, we performed a field experiment with ambient, moderate and severe warming regimes in an arid ecosystem over 4 years. RESULTS Severe warming significantly reduced the specific leaf area and net photosynthetic rate with a relatively stable change and even enhancement under moderate warming, especially showing species-specific performance. The current results largely indicate that a coordinated trade-off can exist between plant functional traits in plant communities in a dryland ecosystem under ambient temperature conditions, which is strongly amplified by moderate warming but diminished or even eliminated by severe warming. Based on the present findings and recent results in the relevant literature, we advance the ecological conceptual models (e.g., LES and CSR) in the response to climatic warming in arid grassland communities, where the few key species play a crucial role by balancing their functional performances to cope with environmental change. CONCLUSION Our results highlight the importance of coordination and/or trade-off between leaf functional traits for understanding patterns of climatic change-induced vegetation degradation and suggest that the plant community composition in these drylands could be shifted under future climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongying Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yingting Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Jiyang College of Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Zhuji, 311800, China
| | - Guangsheng Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
| | - Zhenzhu Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
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Schneider HM. Characterization, costs, cues and future perspectives of phenotypic plasticity. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2022; 130:131-148. [PMID: 35771883 PMCID: PMC9445595 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcac087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plastic responses of plants to the environment are ubiquitous. Phenotypic plasticity occurs in many forms and at many biological scales, and its adaptive value depends on the specific environment and interactions with other plant traits and organisms. Even though plasticity is the norm rather than the exception, its complex nature has been a challenge in characterizing the expression of plasticity, its adaptive value for fitness and the environmental cues that regulate its expression. SCOPE This review discusses the characterization and costs of plasticity and approaches, considerations, and promising research directions in studying plasticity. Phenotypic plasticity is genetically controlled and heritable; however, little is known about how organisms perceive, interpret and respond to environmental cues, and the genes and pathways associated with plasticity. Not every genotype is plastic for every trait, and plasticity is not infinite, suggesting trade-offs, costs and limits to expression of plasticity. The timing, specificity and duration of plasticity are critical to their adaptive value for plant fitness. CONCLUSIONS There are many research opportunities to advance our understanding of plant phenotypic plasticity. New methodology and technological breakthroughs enable the study of phenotypic responses across biological scales and in multiple environments. Understanding the mechanisms of plasticity and how the expression of specific phenotypes influences fitness in many environmental ranges would benefit many areas of plant science ranging from basic research to applied breeding for crop improvement.
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Stotz GC, Salgado‐Luarte C, Escobedo VM, Valladares F, Gianoli E. Phenotypic plasticity and the leaf economics spectrum: plasticity is positively associated with specific leaf area. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gisela C. Stotz
- Centro de Investigación para la Sustentabilidad, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Univ. Andrés Bello Santiago Chile
| | - Cristian Salgado‐Luarte
- Inst. de Investigación Multidisciplinario en Ciencia y Tecnología, Univ. de La Serena La Serena Chile
| | - Víctor M. Escobedo
- Laboratorio de Biología Vegetal, Inst. de Ciencias Biológicas, Univ. de Talca Talca Chile
| | - Fernando Valladares
- Depto de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, LINCGlobal, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN‐CSIC) Madrid España
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Univ. Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles Madrid España
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