Jorad de Vries, Simone Fior, Aksel Pålsson, Alex Widmer, Jake M. Alexander
{"title":"Unravelling drivers of local adaptation through evolutionary functional–structural plant modelling","authors":"Jorad de Vries, Simone Fior, Aksel Pålsson, Alex Widmer, Jake M. Alexander","doi":"10.1111/nph.20098","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Summary<jats:list list-type=\"bullet\"> <jats:list-item>Local adaptation to contrasting environmental conditions along environmental gradients is a widespread phenomenon in plant populations, yet we lack a mechanistic understanding of how individual agents of selection contribute to this evolutionary process.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>Here, we developed a novel evolutionary functional–structural plant (E‐FSP) model that recreates local adaptation of virtual plants along an environmental gradient. First, we validate the model by testing if it can reproduce two elevational ecotypes of <jats:italic>Dianthus carthusianorum</jats:italic> occurring in the Swiss Alps. Second, we use the E‐FSP model to disentangle the relative contribution of abiotic (temperature) and biotic (competition and pollination) selection pressures to elevational adaptation in <jats:italic>D. carthusianorum</jats:italic>.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>Our results suggest that elevational adaptation in <jats:italic>D. carthusianorum</jats:italic> is predominantly driven by the abiotic environment. The model reproduced the qualitative differences between the elevational ecotypes in two phenological (germination and flowering time) and one morphological trait (stalk height), as well as qualitative differences in four performance variables that emerge from G × E interactions (flowering time, number of stalks, rosette area and seed production).</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>Our approach shows how E‐FSP models incorporating physiological, ecological and evolutionary mechanisms can be used in combination with experiments to examine hypotheses about patterns of adaptation observed in the field.</jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":214,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":8.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"New Phytologist","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20098","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PLANT SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
SummaryLocal adaptation to contrasting environmental conditions along environmental gradients is a widespread phenomenon in plant populations, yet we lack a mechanistic understanding of how individual agents of selection contribute to this evolutionary process.Here, we developed a novel evolutionary functional–structural plant (E‐FSP) model that recreates local adaptation of virtual plants along an environmental gradient. First, we validate the model by testing if it can reproduce two elevational ecotypes of Dianthus carthusianorum occurring in the Swiss Alps. Second, we use the E‐FSP model to disentangle the relative contribution of abiotic (temperature) and biotic (competition and pollination) selection pressures to elevational adaptation in D. carthusianorum.Our results suggest that elevational adaptation in D. carthusianorum is predominantly driven by the abiotic environment. The model reproduced the qualitative differences between the elevational ecotypes in two phenological (germination and flowering time) and one morphological trait (stalk height), as well as qualitative differences in four performance variables that emerge from G × E interactions (flowering time, number of stalks, rosette area and seed production).Our approach shows how E‐FSP models incorporating physiological, ecological and evolutionary mechanisms can be used in combination with experiments to examine hypotheses about patterns of adaptation observed in the field.
期刊介绍:
New Phytologist is an international electronic journal published 24 times a year. It is owned by the New Phytologist Foundation, a non-profit-making charitable organization dedicated to promoting plant science. The journal publishes excellent, novel, rigorous, and timely research and scholarship in plant science and its applications. The articles cover topics in five sections: Physiology & Development, Environment, Interaction, Evolution, and Transformative Plant Biotechnology. These sections encompass intracellular processes, global environmental change, and encourage cross-disciplinary approaches. The journal recognizes the use of techniques from molecular and cell biology, functional genomics, modeling, and system-based approaches in plant science. Abstracting and Indexing Information for New Phytologist includes Academic Search, AgBiotech News & Information, Agroforestry Abstracts, Biochemistry & Biophysics Citation Index, Botanical Pesticides, CAB Abstracts®, Environment Index, Global Health, and Plant Breeding Abstracts, and others.