In the present framework of global warming, it is unclear whether evolutionary adaptation can happen quick enough to preserve the persistence of many species. Specifically, we lack knowledge about the adaptive potential of the different populations in relation to the various constraints that may hamper particular adaptations. There is evidence indicating that early flowering often provides an adaptive advantage to plants in temperate zones in response to global warming. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the adaptive potential for advancing flowering onset in Lupinus angustifolius L. (Fabaceae). Seeds from four populations from two contrasting latitudes in Spain were collected and sown in a common garden environment. Selecting the 25% of the individuals that flowered earlier in the first generation, over three generations, three different early flowering selection lines were established, involving both self‐crosses and outcrosses. All artificial selection lines advanced their flowering significantly with respect to the control line in the northernmost populations, but not in the southern ones. Selection lines obtained from outcrossing had a greater advancement in flowering than those from self‐crossing. No differences were found in the number or weight of the seeds produced between control and artificial selection lines, probably because plants in the common garden were drip irrigated. These results suggest that northern populations may have a greater adaptive potential and that southern populations may be more vulnerable in the context of climate warming. However, earlier flowering was also associated with changes in other traits (height, biomass, shoot growth, specific leaflet area, and leaflet dry matter content), and the effects of these changes varied greatly depending on the latitude of the population and selection line. Assessments of the ability of populations to cope with climate change through this and other approaches are essential to manage species and populations in a more efficient way.
Silene ciliata (Caryophyllaceae) is a key species to test evolutionary hypotheses in a global warming context. The recent advances in Next Generation Sequencing technologies can help in providing clues about climate-mediated local adaptation. In the present study, we analysed the full transcriptome of six individuals of S. ciliata from Central Spain, by aligning it with the transcriptome of S. latifolia. We aimed (a) to identify Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in the transcriptome of the species, (b) to describe the biological function of the polymorphic genes expressed and (c) to identify loci that may be involved in local adaptation processes at optimal and marginal populations of the species. We identified a total of 147,118 SNPs distributed throughout 12,688 sequences. The number of polymorphic sequences annotated was 8023. One hundred thirty sequences containing polymorphisms strongly associated with optimal and marginal conditions were selected. Gene ontology searches were successful for 118, and many of these were related to responses to stress (n = 19) and abiotic stimulus (n = 16). Genomic data generated provide a starting point for further research on the identification of candidate genes related to local adaptation and other processes in the species.
Current climate change may impede species to evolutionary adapt quickly enough to environmental changes, threatening their survival. In keystone populations, it may be necessary to consider the introduction of adaptive alleles through assisted gene flow. Considering that flowering time is a crucial trait in plant response to global warming, the objective of our study was to test the potential benefits and limitations of assisted gene flow for enhancing the evolutionary potential of Lupinus angustifolius L. (Fabaceae) populations through the advancement of flowering time in the context of global warming. Previous studies have shown that southern populations of L. angustifolius flower earlier than northern populations. We collected seeds from four populations in Spain from two different latitudes, and we established them in a common garden environment. To advance the flowering onset of northern populations, we used pollen from southern individuals to pollinate plants from northern populations, creating an F1 gene flow line. In the following season, the F1 gene flow line was self-pollinated to create an F2 self-pollination line. In parallel, individuals from the F1 gene flow line were pollinated again with pollen from northern plants, thus creating a backcross line. We also included a control line resulting from a random selection of individuals in each population in the first generation and their descendants from self-crosses in the second generation. We measured flowering onset, reproductive success and other plant traits in all individuals resulting from these lines. To characterize the effects of the assisted gene flow line at the genomic level, we carried out a gene capture analysis to sequence genes related to reproduction, growth, stress, nitrogen, and alkaloids in individuals from the F1 gene flow line and the control line in the first generation. All gene flow-derived lines flowered significantly earlier than the control line. Furthermore, plants from the F1 gene flow line produced heavier seeds and had a lower shoot growth than the control line. Genomic analyses identified 36 SNPs outliers that were associated to flowering onset, seed weight, and shoot growth. These results highlight that assisted gene flow can increase the evolutionary potential of populations by modifying the values of a specific trait. However, the modification of one trait may affect the values of other plant traits. The characteristics of the populations will have a fundamental effect on the results of assisted gene flow. Therefore, the selection of the donor population is a critical step in this process.
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