Abstract Detail

From Genes to Distributions: physiological ecology as an integrator of polyploid biology

Wei, Na [1], Ashman, Tia-Lynn [2], Cronn, Richard [3], Liston, Aaron [4].

Polyploidy confers ecological advantage in wild and synthetic Fragaria.

Polyploidy, or whole genome duplication often with hybridization, is common in eukaryotes and is thought to drive ecological and evolutionary success especially in plants. The mechanisms of polyploid success in ecologically relevant contexts, however, remain largely unknown. Here we examined the ecological advantage of polyploidy in both wild and synthetic Fragaria. By growing clonal replicates of a worldwide genotype collection of six allopolyploid and five diploid Fragaria taxa in three climatically different (i.e. cool coastal, temperate valley and arid montane) common gardens, our study revealed polyploid fitness advantage in heterogeneous environments, which was found to be conferred by both functional trait divergence and adaptive plasticity, supporting a ‘jack-and-master’ strategy for polyploids. As such polyploid advantage in wild Fragaria may benefit from combined outcomes of genome duplication, hybridization,and polyploidy-enabled adaptive evolution, we further tested whether genome duplication alone can drive ecological divergence and confer polyploid advantage. To do this, we compared functional traits and fitness components between synthetic, colchicine-induced autotetraploid Fragaria and their colchicine-treated but unconverted diploids. We found that genome duplication alone generated functional trait divergence, recapitulating patterns observed in wild Fragaria, and polyploid advantage was strongly genetic-family dependent. This response potentially allows for rapid short-term evolutionary adaptation and fuels genomic diversity and independent origins of polyploidy. The results from wild and synthetic Fragaria together elucidate essential ecological mechanisms underlying polyploid adaptation, and provide important insight into the prevalence and persistence of polyploid plants.

1 - Holden Arboretum, 9550 Sperry Rd, Kirtland, OH, 44094, USA
2 - University of Pittsburgh, Department of Biological Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
3 - United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
4 - Oregon State University, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

Keywords:
adaptation
colchicine treatment
common gardens
Fragaria
fitness
functional traits
phenotypic plasticity
polyploidy
synthetic polyploids
wild polyploids.

Presentation Type: Symposium Presentation
Session: SY3, From Genes to Distributions: physiological ecology as an integrator of polyploid biology
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2020
Time: 10:30 AM
Number: SY3001
Abstract ID:240
Candidate for Awards:None