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From the ground up: biotic and abiotic features that set the course from genes to ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Spatial variation in cone serotiny in Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ssp. latifolia) across Yellowstone National Park influences initial pine recruitment after stand-replacing fire with tremendous population, community, and ecosystem consequences. A previous study showed that much of the spatial variation in serotiny results from the balance of selection arising from high frequencies of fire favoring serotiny countered by opposing selection exerted by American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) as seed predators. This earlier study, however, assumed stable local red squirrel densities over multiple generations of pines. Here, we examine environmental properties that might contribute to long-term stability in the densities of red squirrels among sites. We found that the amount of clay in the soil, an indicator of plant and fungal growth-the latter an important food resource for red squirrels-and the coefficient of variation (CV) in diameter at breast height (DBH) of forest trees together account for a substantial amount of variation in red squirrel density. Soil development occurs over very long time scales, and thus, intersite variation in the amount of clay is unlikely to shift across pine generations. However, CV of DBH and squirrel density increase with stand age, which acts to amplify selection against serotiny with increasing interfire interval. Regardless, much of the variation in the CV of DBH is accounted for by soil bulk density, mean annual temperature, and surface curvature, which are unlikely to vary in their relative differences among sites over time. Consequently, these soil and abiotic attributes could contribute to consistent spatial patterns of red squirrel densities from one pine generation to the next, resulting in consistent local and spatial variation in selection exerted by red squirrels against serotiny.

SUBMITTER: Benkman CW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5513219 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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From the ground up: biotic and abiotic features that set the course from genes to ecosystems.

Benkman Craig W CW Jech Sierra S Talluto Matthew V MV

Ecology and evolution 20160909 19

Spatial variation in cone serotiny in Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine (<i>Pinus contorta</i> ssp. <i>latifolia</i>) across Yellowstone National Park influences initial pine recruitment after stand-replacing fire with tremendous population, community, and ecosystem consequences. A previous study showed that much of the spatial variation in serotiny results from the balance of selection arising from high frequencies of fire favoring serotiny countered by opposing selection exerted by American red sq ...[more]

PMID: 28725380

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Project description:BackgroundTo develop a set of transcriptome sequences to support research on environmental stress responses in green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), we undertook deep RNA sequencing of green ash tissues under various stress treatments. The treatments, including emerald ash borer (EAB) feeding, heat, drought, cold and ozone, were selected to mimic the increasing threats of climate change and invasive pests faced by green ash across its native habitat.ResultsWe report the generation and assembly of RNA sequences from 55 green ash samples into 107,611 putative unique transcripts (PUTs). 52,899 open reading frames were identified. Functional annotation of the PUTs by comparison to the Uniprot protein database identified matches for 63 % of transcripts and for 98 % of transcripts with ORFs. Further functional annotation identified conserved protein domains and assigned gene ontology terms to the PUTs. Examination of transcript expression across different RNA libraries revealed that expression patterns clustered based on tissues regardless of stress treatment. The transcripts from stress treatments were further examined to identify differential expression. Tens to hundreds of differentially expressed PUTs were identified for each stress treatment. A set of 109 PUTs were found to be consistently up or down regulated across three or more different stress treatments, representing basal stress response candidate genes in green ash. In addition, 1956 simple sequence repeats were identified in the PUTs, of which we identified 465 high quality DNA markers and designed flanking PCR primers.ConclusionsNorth American native ash trees have suffered extensive mortality due to EAB infestation, creating a need to breed or select for resistant green ash genotypes. Stress from climate change is an additional concern for longevity of native ash populations. The use of genomics could accelerate management efforts. The green ash transcriptome we have developed provides important sequence information, genetic markers and stress-response candidate genes.

Dataset Information

From the ground up: biotic and abiotic features that set the course from genes to ecosystems.

Publications

From the ground up: biotic and abiotic features that set the course from genes to ecosystems.

Similar Datasets

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