Abstract Detail



Ecology

Anneberg, Thomas [1], Segraves, Kari [2].

Neopolyploidy exacerbates nutritional needs and affects resource capture and storage traits inHeuchera cylindrica.

Polyploidy has been increasingly appreciated as a key driver of plant evolution. Although established polyploid lineages are common in nature, a newly formed polyploid (hereafter “neopolyploid”) must first overcome ecological barriers to establishment or go extinct. One expected barrier to establishment is a greater requirement by neopolyploids for nutrients that could ultimately limit where and when neopolyploids can establish. Although we have evidence that established polyploids are more productive with nutrient enrichment, we still need studies that address how plant traits associated with resource capture and storage are affected by both neopolyploidy and variation in nutrient availability. By doing so, we will understand the immediate consequences of whole-genome duplication on nutrient requirements in plants. We thus tested how neopolyploidy in Heuchera cylindrica affects plant performance under varying nutrient environments. We specifically compared the performance of diploids and their synthetic neopolyploid progeny across differing nitrogen and phosphorus environments by measuring biomass allocation to above and belowground tissues, leaf chlorophyll, specific leaf area, and the concentration of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in tissues. The results showed that plant cytotype strongly interacts with nutrient supply rates for the measured performance traits. Although we expected neopolyploidy to cause plants to allocate more biomass to acquisitive roots, we instead observed a stronger increase in the allocation to aboveground structures and a diminished investment into storage structures. We therefore find evidence that the interaction between plant cytotype and resource supply rates was driven by a decreased capacity in neopolyploids to acquire and store carbon. We also observed higher nutrient concentrations in neopolyploid tissues, showing that neopolyploid biomass is inherently more costly to construct than diploid biomass. We conclude that neopolyploidy causes plants to be more constrained in growth by their nutrient environment.


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1 - Syracuse University, Biology, 107 College Pl, Syracuse, NY, 13244, United States
2 - Syracuse University, Biology, 107 College Place, Department of Biology, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA

Keywords:
polyploidy
Saxifragaceae
Resource Economics Spectrum
Nutrient assay.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: ECO2, Ecology 2 : Adaptation and Landscape Genetics
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2020
Time: 1:30 PM
Number: ECO2005
Abstract ID:59
Candidate for Awards:None


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