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Plasticity of plant defense and its evolutionary implications in wild populations of Boechera stricta.

ABSTRACT: Phenotypic plasticity is thought to impact evolutionary trajectories by shifting trait values in a direction that is either favored by natural selection ("adaptive" plasticity) or disfavored ("nonadaptive" plasticity). However, it is unclear how commonly each of these types of plasticity occurs in natural populations. To answer this question, we measured glucosinolate defensive chemistry and reproductive fitness in over 1500 individuals of the wild perennial mustard Boechera stricta, planted in four common gardens across central Idaho, United States. Glucosinolate profiles-including total glucosinolate concentration as well as the relative abundances and overall diversity of different compounds-were strongly plastic both among habitats and within habitats. Patterns of glucosinolate plasticity varied greatly among genotypes. Plasticity among sites was predicted to affect fitness in 27.1% of cases; more often than expected by chance, glucosinolate plasticity increased rather than decreased relative fitness. In contrast, we found no evidence for within-habitat selection on glucosinolate reaction norm slopes (i.e., plasticity along a continuous environmental gradient). Together, our results indicate that glucosinolate plasticity may improve the ability of B. stricta populations to persist after migration to new habitats.

SUBMITTER: Wagner MR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5961941 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Plasticity of plant defense and its evolutionary implications in wild populations of Boechera stricta.

Wagner Maggie R MR Mitchell-Olds Thomas T

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution 20180410 5

Phenotypic plasticity is thought to impact evolutionary trajectories by shifting trait values in a direction that is either favored by natural selection ("adaptive" plasticity) or disfavored ("nonadaptive" plasticity). However, it is unclear how commonly each of these types of plasticity occurs in natural populations. To answer this question, we measured glucosinolate defensive chemistry and reproductive fitness in over 1500 individuals of the wild perennial mustard Boechera stricta, planted in ...[more]

PMID: 29522254

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Project description:Background and aims:In the Brassicaceae family, apomictic development is characteristic of the genus Boechera. Hybridization, polyploidy and environmental adaptation that arose during the evolution of Boechera may serve as (epi)genetic regulators of apomictic initiation in this genus. Here we focus on Boechera stricta, a predominantly diploid species that reproduces sexually. However, apomictic development in this species has been reported in several studies, indicating non-obligate sexuality. Methods:A progressive investigation of flower development was conducted using three accessions to assess the reproductive system of B. stricta. We employed molecular and cyto-embryological identification using histochemistry, transmission electron microscopy and Nomarski and epifluorescence microscopy. Key Results:Data from internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and chloroplast haplotype sequencing, in addition to microsatellite variation, confirmed the B. stricta genotype for all lines. Embryological data indicated irregularities in sexual reproduction manifested by heterochronic ovule development, longevity of meiocyte and dyad stages, diverse callose accumulation during meiocyte-to-gametophyte development, and the formation of triads and tetrads in several patterns. The arabinogalactan-related sugar epitope recognized by JIM13 immunolocalized to one or more megaspores. Furthermore, pollen sterility and a high frequency of seed abortion appeared to accompany reproduction of the accession ES512, along with the initiation of parthenogenesis. Data from flow cytometric screening revealed both sexual and apomictic seed formation. Conclusion:These results imply that B. stricta is a species with an underlying ability to initiate apomixis, at least with respect to the lines examined here. The existence of apomixis in an otherwise diploid sexual B. stricta may provide the genomic building blocks for establishing highly penetrant apomictic diploids and hybrid relatives. Our findings demonstrate that apomixis per se is a variable trait upon which natural selection could act.

Dataset Information

Plasticity of plant defense and its evolutionary implications in wild populations of Boechera stricta.

Publications

Plasticity of plant defense and its evolutionary implications in wild populations of Boechera stricta.

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