Dataset Information

Inbreeding Affects Gene Expression Differently in Two Self-Incompatible Arabidopsis lyrata Populations with Similar Levels of Inbreeding Depression.

ABSTRACT: Knowledge of which genes and pathways are affected by inbreeding may help understanding the genetic basis of inbreeding depression, the potential for purging (selection against deleterious recessive alleles), and the transition from outcrossing to selfing. Arabidopsis lyrata is a predominantly self-incompatible perennial plant, closely related to the selfing model species A. thaliana. To examine how inbreeding affects gene expression, we compared the transcriptome of experimentally selfed and outcrossed A. lyrata originating from two Scandinavian populations that express similar inbreeding depression for fitness (? ? 0.80). The number of genes significantly differentially expressed between selfed and outcrossed individuals were 2.5 times higher in the Norwegian population (? 500 genes) than in the Swedish population (? 200 genes). In both populations, a majority of genes were upregulated on selfing (? 80%). Functional annotation analysis of the differentially expressed genes showed that selfed offspring were characterized by 1) upregulation of stress-related genes in both populations and 2) upregulation of photosynthesis-related genes in Sweden but downregulation in Norway. Moreover, we found that reproduction- and pollination-related genes were affected by inbreeding only in Norway. We conclude that inbreeding causes both general and population-specific effects. The observed common effects suggest that inbreeding generally upregulates rather than downregulates gene expression and affects genes associated with stress response and general metabolic activity. Population differences in the number of affected genes and in effects on the expression of photosynthesis-related genes show that the genetic basis of inbreeding depression can differ between populations with very similar levels of inbreeding depression.

SUBMITTER: Menzel M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4833072 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Inbreeding Affects Gene Expression Differently in Two Self-Incompatible Arabidopsis lyrata Populations with Similar Levels of Inbreeding Depression.

Menzel Mandy M Sletvold Nina N Ågren Jon J Hansson Bengt B

Molecular biology and evolution 20150407 8

Knowledge of which genes and pathways are affected by inbreeding may help understanding the genetic basis of inbreeding depression, the potential for purging (selection against deleterious recessive alleles), and the transition from outcrossing to selfing. Arabidopsis lyrata is a predominantly self-incompatible perennial plant, closely related to the selfing model species A. thaliana. To examine how inbreeding affects gene expression, we compared the transcriptome of experimentally selfed and ou ...[more]

PMID: 25855783

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Perenniality is best understood in quantitative terms, involving the relationship between production vs. turnover of meristems, biomass, or energy reserves. Previous quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies using divergent populations of the perennial rock cress Arabidopsis lyrata have shown that trade-offs in vegetative growth vs. reproduction are due to cascading effects of differences in early vegetative development, which contribute to local adaptation. However, details of the developmental differences and how they affect perenniality remained unclear. In this study, we investigated in detail the developmental differences in perenniality between populations. A. lyrata from Norway and North Carolina populations, representing contrasting environments and degrees of perenniality, were grown under controlled conditions, and data were collected on plant phenology and shoot-level development. We tested hypotheses that differences in perenniality involve strict allocation of lateral meristems to vegetative vs. reproductive fates, or alternatively quantitative effects of pre-reproductive vegetative development. RESULTS:The two populations showed large differences in the degree of vegetative development on individual shoots prior to reproductive transitions. The number of leaves produced on shoots prior to bolting, and not strict meristem allocation or variation in apical dominance, was able to explain variation in the number of inflorescences on individual plants. These results suggested that allocation of time to shoot vegetative vs. reproductive development could be a major factor in resource allocation differences between the populations. CONCLUSIONS:Based on these results and those of previous QTL studies, we propose a model in which the degree of shoot vegetative development shapes the developmental context for reproduction and subsequent vegetative growth in different environments. Climate-specific effects of shoot development patterns on reproductive output and survival may result in divergent evolutionary trajectories along a perenniality continuum, which may have broader relevance for plant life history evolution.

Dataset Information

Inbreeding Affects Gene Expression Differently in Two Self-Incompatible Arabidopsis lyrata Populations with Similar Levels of Inbreeding Depression.

Publications

Inbreeding Affects Gene Expression Differently in Two Self-Incompatible Arabidopsis lyrata Populations with Similar Levels of Inbreeding Depression.

Similar Datasets

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