Dataset Information

Local adaptation to precipitation in the perennial grass Elymus elymoides: Trade-offs between growth and drought resistance traits.

ABSTRACT: Understanding local adaptation to climate is critical for managing ecosystems in the face of climate change. While there have been many provenance studies in trees, less is known about local adaptation in herbaceous species, including the perennial grasses that dominate arid and semiarid rangeland ecosystems. We used a common garden study to quantify variation in growth and drought resistance traits in 99 populations of Elymus elymoides from a broad geographic and climatic range in the western United States. Ecotypes from drier sites produced less biomass and smaller seeds, and had traits associated with greater drought resistance: small leaves with low osmotic potential and high integrated water use efficiency (?¹³C). Seasonality also influenced plant traits. Plants from regions with relatively warm, wet summers had large seeds, large leaves, and low ?¹³C. Irrespective of climate, we also observed trade-offs between biomass production and drought resistance traits. Together, these results suggest that much of the phenotypic variation among E. elymoides ecotypes represents local adaptation to differences in the amount and timing of water availability. In addition, ecotypes that grow rapidly may be less able to persist under dry conditions. Land managers may be able to use this variation to improve restoration success by seeding ecotypes with multiple drought resistance traits in areas with lower precipitation. The future success of this common rangeland species will likely depend on the use of tools such as seed transfer zones to match local variation in growth and drought resistance to predicted climatic conditions.

SUBMITTER: Blumenthal DM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7896711 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Local adaptation to precipitation in the perennial grass <i>Elymus elymoides</i>: Trade-offs between growth and drought resistance traits.

Blumenthal Dana M DM LeCain Daniel R DR Porensky Lauren M LM Leger Elizabeth A EA Gaffney Rowan R Ocheltree Troy W TW Pilmanis Adrienne M AM

Evolutionary applications 20201009 2

Understanding local adaptation to climate is critical for managing ecosystems in the face of climate change. While there have been many provenance studies in trees, less is known about local adaptation in herbaceous species, including the perennial grasses that dominate arid and semiarid rangeland ecosystems. We used a common garden study to quantify variation in growth and drought resistance traits in 99 populations of <i>Elymus elymoides</i> from a broad geographic and climatic range in the we ...[more]

PMID: 33664792

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Project description:Globally, human activities have resulted in rapid environmental changes that present unique challenges for wildlife. However, investigations of local adaptation in response to simultaneous exposure to multiple anthropogenic selection pressures are rare and often generate conflicting results. We used an in situ reciprocal transplant design within a quantitative genetic framework to examine how adaptive evolution and phenotypic plasticity contribute to the persistence of an amphibian population inhabiting an environment characterized by high levels of multiple toxic trace elements. We found evidence of phenotypic divergence that is largely consistent with local adaptation to an environment contaminated with multiple chemical stressors, tied to potential trade-offs in the absence of contaminants. Specifically, the population derived from the contaminated environment had a reduced risk of mortality and greater larval growth and in the contaminated environment, relative to offspring from the naïve population. Further, while survival in the uncontaminated environment was not compromised in offspring from the contaminant-exposed population, they did show delayed development and reduced growth rates over larval development, relative to the naïve population. We found no evidence of reduced additive genetic variation in the contaminant-exposed population, suggesting long-term selection in a novel environment has not reduced the evolutionary potential of that population. We also saw little evidence that past selection in the ASH environment had reduced trait plasticity in the resident population. Maternal effects were prominent in early development, but we did not detect any trends suggesting these effects were associated with the maternal transfer of toxic trace elements. Our results demonstrate the potential for adaptation to multiple contaminants in a wild amphibian population, which may have facilitated long-term persistence in a heavily impacted environment.

Project description:Background and aimsRhizomes are key organs for the establishment of perennial grass stands and adaptation to environmental stress. However, mechanisms regulating rhizome initiation and elongation under drought stress and during post-drought recovery remain unclear. The objective of this study is to investigate molecular factors and metabolic processes involved in drought effects and post-drought recovery in rhizome growth in perennial grass species by comparative transcriptomic and proteomic profiling.MethodsTall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) (B-type rhizome genotype, 'BR') plants were exposed to drought stress and re-watering in growth chambers. The number and length of rhizomes were measured following drought stress and re-watering. Hormone and sugar contents were analysed, and transcriptomic and proteomic analyses were performed to identify metabolic factors, genes and proteins associated with rhizome development.Key resultsRhizome initiation and elongation were inhibited by drought stress, and were associated with increases in the contents of abscisic acid (ABA) and soluble sugars, but declines in the contents of indoleacetic acid (IAA), zeatin riboside (ZR) and gibberellin (GA4). Genes involved in multiple metabolic processes and stress defence systems related to rhizome initiation exhibited different responses to drought stress, including ABA signalling, energy metabolism and stress protection. Drought-inhibition of rhizome elongation could be mainly associated with the alteration of GA4 and antioxidants contents, energy metabolism and stress response proteins. Upon re-watering, new rhizomes were regenerated from rhizome nodes previously exposed to drought stress, which was accompanied by the decline in ABA content and increases in IAA, ZR and GA4, as well as genes and proteins for auxin, lipids, lignin and nitrogen metabolism.ConclusionsDrought-inhibition of rhizome initiation and elongation in tall fescue was mainly associated with adjustments in hormone metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and stress-defence systems. Rhizome regeneration in response to re-watering involved reactivation of hormone and lipid metabolism, secondary cell-wall development, and nitrogen remobilization and cycling.

Dataset Information

Local adaptation to precipitation in the perennial grass Elymus elymoides: Trade-offs between growth and drought resistance traits.

Publications

Local adaptation to precipitation in the perennial grass <i>Elymus elymoides</i>: Trade-offs between growth and drought resistance traits.

Similar Datasets

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