Genetic and epigenetic divergence between disturbed and undisturbed subpopulations of a Mediterranean shrub: a 20‐year field experiment

Cuiping

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

Environmentally induced phenotypic plasticity is thought to play an important role in the adaption of plant populations to heterogeneous habitat conditions, and yet the importance of epigenetic variation as a mechanism of adaptive plasticity in natural plant populations still merits further research. In this study, we investigated populations of Vitex negundo var. heterophylla (Chinese chastetree) from adjacent habitat types at seven sampling sites. Using several functional traits, we detected a significant differentiation between habitat types. With amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) and methylation‐sensitive AFLP (MSAP), we found relatively high levels of genetic and epigenetic diversity but very low genetic and epigenetic differences between habitats within sites. Bayesian clustering showed a remarkable habitat‐related differentiation and more genetic loci associated with the habitat type than epigenetic, suggesting that the adaptation to the habitat is genetically based. However, we did not find any significant correlation between genetic or epigenetic variation and habitat using simple and partial Mantel tests. Moreover, we found no correlation between genetic and ecologically relevant phenotypic variation and a significant correlation between epigenetic and phenotypic variation. Although we did not find any direct relationship between epigenetic variation and habitat environment, our findings suggest that epigenetic variation may complement genetic variation as a source of functional phenotypic diversity associated with adaptation to the heterogeneous habitat in natural plant populations.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic and epigenetic variations associated with adaptation to heterogeneous habitat conditions in a deciduous shrub

Cuiping

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

“…Moreover, experimental warming increased CHH methylation in A. thaliana transposable elements (Dubin et al, 2015) and contributed to increased methylation variation and adaptive plasticity in seedlings of the alpine herb, Wahlenbergia ceracea (Nicotra et al, 2015). However, these studies could not resolve to what extent the temperature associated methylation variants provided an autonomous way of adaptation that cannot be simply explained by underlying genetic variation (Foust et al, 2016;Herrera and Bazaga, 2016).…”

Section: A2 Epigenetic Potential To Adapt To Climate Changementioning

confidence: 97%

Climate Change Impacts on Seagrass Meadows and Macroalgal Forests: An Integrative Perspective on Acclimation and Adaptation Potential

et al. 2018

Marine macrophytes are the foundation of algal forests and seagrass meadows-some of the most productive and diverse coastal marine ecosystems on the planet. These ecosystems provide nursery grounds and food for fish and invertebrates, coastline protection from erosion, carbon sequestration, and nutrient fixation. For marine macrophytes, temperature is generally the most important range limiting factor, and ocean warming is considered the most severe threat among global climate change factors. Ocean warming induced losses of dominant macrophytes along their equatorial range edges, as well as range extensions into polar regions, are predicted and already documented. While adaptive evolution based on genetic change is considered too slow to keep pace with the increasing rate of anthropogenic environmental changes, rapid adaptation may come about through a set of non-genetic mechanisms involving the functional composition of the associated microbiome, as well as epigenetic modification of the genome and its regulatory effect on gene expression and the activity of transposable elements. While research in terrestrial plants demonstrates that the integration of non-genetic mechanisms provide a more holistic picture of a species' evolutionary potential, research in marine systems is lagging behind. Here, we aim to review the potential of marine macrophytes to acclimatize and adapt to major climate change effects via intraspecific variation at the genetic, epigenetic, and microbiome levels. All three levels create phenotypic variation that may either enhance fitness within individuals (plasticity) or be subject to selection and ultimately, adaptation. We

“…Epigenetic diversity can generate massive heritable variation of ecologically relevant plant traits such as root allocation, drought tolerance and nutrient plasticity (Zhang, Fischer, Colot, & Bossdorf, 2013), and it appears to increase the productivity and stability of plant populations in Arabidopsis thaliana under artificial conditions (Latzel et al., 2013). An increasing number of studies have also demonstrated the common existence and significant role of epigenetic variation in plant populations of herbs (Foust et al., 2016; Herrera, Medrano, & Bazaga, 2014; Medrano et al., 2014; Preite et al., 2015; Schulz, Eckstein, & Durka, 2014), shrubs (Avramidou, Ganopoulos, Doulis, Tsaftaris, & Aravanopoulos, 2015; Herrera & Bazaga, 2013, 2016), and trees (Guarino, Cicatelli, Brundu, Heinze, & Castiglione, 2015; Gugger, Fitz‐Gibbon, PellEgrini, & Sork, 2016; Lira‐Medeiros et al., 2010; Platt, Gugger, Pellegrini, & Sork, 2015; Sáez‐Laguna et al., 2014) under natural conditions. Therefore, epigenetic variation can be a very important mechanism for invasive plant success in a broad range of environments (Douhovnikoff & Dodd, 2014; Richards, Schrey, & Pigliucci, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic and epigenetic changes during the invasion of a cosmopolitan species (Phragmites australis)

Cuiping

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

While many introduced invasive species can increase genetic diversity through multiple introductions and/or hybridization to colonize successfully in new environments, others with low genetic diversity have to persist by alternative mechanisms such as epigenetic variation. Given that Phragmites australis is a cosmopolitan reed growing in a wide range of habitats and its invasion history, especially in North America, has been relatively well studied, it provides an ideal system for studying the role and relationship of genetic and epigenetic variation in biological invasions. We used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and methylation‐sensitive (MS) AFLP methods to evaluate genetic and epigenetic diversity and structure in groups of the common reed across its range in the world. Evidence from analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) based on AFLP and MS‐AFLP data supported the previous conclusion that the invasive introduced populations of P. australis in North America were from European and Mediterranean regions. In the Gulf Coast region, the introduced group harbored a high level of genetic variation relative to originating group from its native location, and it showed epigenetic diversity equal to that of the native group, if not higher, while the introduced group held lower genetic diversity than the native. In the Great Lakes region, the native group displayed very low genetic and epigenetic variation, and the introduced one showed slightly lower genetic and epigenetic diversity than the original one. Unexpectedly, AMOVA and principal component analysis did not demonstrate any epigenetic convergence between native and introduced groups before genetic convergence. Our results suggested that intertwined changes in genetic and epigenetic variation were involved in the invasion success in North America. Although our study did not provide strong evidence proving the importance of epigenetic variation prior to genetic, it implied the similar role of stable epigenetic diversity to genetic diversity in the adaptation of P. australis to local environment.